Edward Hawker
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Edward Hawker (7 November 1782 – 8 June 1860) was an officer of the
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 ...
who served during the French Revolutionary and
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
. Born as the son of a naval officer in 1782, Edward Hawker was first entered in the books of a warship when just four years old. His actual seagoing service did not begin until 1792, after which he saw action in some of the early engagements of the French Revolutionary Wars. Commissioned a
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
at thirteen, he served with several relatives both in the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
and in the waters off the British coast. A
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 ...
at twenty-one, he captained his own ships at the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars. Posted again to the West Indies, he endured several mishaps, including running his ship aground, and then having it struck by lightning and damaged. His travails with the weather there continued after his promotion to
post-captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to dis ...
, including a severe hurricane that dis-masted his ship and nearly sank her. He was a successful frigate captain in the Caribbean, capturing a number of enemy
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
s, and served at the capture of Guadeloupe in 1810. Rewarded with the command of ships of the line, he spent most of his time in North American waters or the Caribbean towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars and during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
. The end of the wars after 1815 left little opportunity for active service, but Hawker briefly commanded a ship as
flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a " captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "Firs ...
to the
Earl of Northesk Earl of Northesk is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1662 for John Carnegie, 1st Earl of Northesk, John Carnegie, who notably served as Sheriff of Forfarshire. He was given the subsidiary title of Lord Rosehill and Eglismau ...
, and eventually reached flag-rank himself. He spent his retirement as a correspondent for ''
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 died an
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 ...
in 1860, one of the last surviving commanders of the wars with France.


Family and early life

Edward Hawker was born on 7 November 1782, the son of Captain James Hawker, who had served during the
American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. Hawker was nominally entered onto the books of the 28-gun by her captain, Prince William Henry, the future King William IV, in May 1786. Hawker was just four years old at the time, making this a fictitious entry to allow him to gain "sea time" and seniority. He did not begin his actual naval service for another six years, until he was ten years old. Serving during the French Revolutionary Wars, Hawker was aboard at the action of 7 May 1794, when his ship captured the French frigate ''Atalante'', and took her captain, Charles-Alexandre Linois, prisoner. Hawker was commissioned a lieutenant in 1796, at the age of thirteen, and went out to the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
with his brother-in-law, Captain Charles Boyles, and served on several of his ships. He later served as a lieutenant aboard HMS ''Garland'', and aboard the 18-gun sloop , under the command of another brother-in-law, Michael Seymour. Hawker's ships were active in operations against French and Spanish
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
s and merchants, and he assisted in the capture of two large privateers. He then became first-lieutenant of the 32-gun , and commanded her boats in a successful cutting-out expedition against a Spanish privateer. Hawker then left active service for a period on
half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the E ...
during the
Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France, the Spanish Empire, and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it set t ...
.


Napoleonic Wars

Hawker was back in action with the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars in 1803, having been promoted to commander. He was given a small hired 4-gun cutter named ''Swift'' in June 1803 and sent to patrol off
Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
. He carried out an attack against two French
schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
s, capturing both, but was forced to abandon his prizes after French troops appeared. He briefly took charge of the
brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...
in August 1803, but was soon transferred to the sloop HMS ''Mignonne''. His service in command of ''Mignonne'' was eventful, in June 1804 she ran ashore off Lucca,
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 ...
. As she was being towed to
Port Royal Port Royal () was a town located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest and most prosperous city in the Caribbean, functioning as the cen ...
by HMS ''Desiree'', she was struck by lightning on 9 July. Three seamen were killed and several injured, while ''Mignonne'' sustained some damage. Hawker was advanced to
post-captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to dis ...
on 6 June 1804 and appointed to command the 74-gun . In August 1804 ''Theseus'', flying the flag of Rear-Admiral James Richard Dacres, made a cruise north of
San Domingo Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...
in company with the 74-gun . The two ships were caught in a severe hurricane on 4 September, and both were almost completely dis-masted. ''Theseus''s boats were destroyed, and Hawker ordered a number of the guns to be thrown overboard. At one point there was of water in the hold, and it was only through continued pumping that both ships were able to weather the storm and return to Port Royal. Hawker left ''Theseus'' in late 1804, and in March 1805 commissioned the 32-gun . Hawker spent two years cruising in the West Indies and off the coast of North America, making voyages to the Halifax Station, and on 9 June 1806 captured the 18-gun French brig ''Observateur'' in the West Indies. Hawker was apparently involved in another hurricane some time after this, as ''Tartar'' was ordered to return to Britain to undergo repairs for damage sustained. Hawker remained in the West Indies however, transferring into the 36-gun in September 1807. He continued to serve off North America, and in early 1809 escorted a convoy from Halifax to
Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
. On his voyage he came across the 16-gun French brig on 16 January, which put up a brief resistance before surrendering with three men killed and twelve wounded. Hawker had further success at the end of the year, chasing down and capturing the 16-gun ''Bernais'' off
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
on 14 December. Two men were wounded on ''Melampus'', and one man killed and several wounded on ''Bernais''. Hawker remained active off Guadeloupe into 1810 and supported the invasion and eventual capture of the island between January and February that year. One of his final successes in the Caribbean was the capture of the 20-gun privateer ''Fantôme'' on 28 May 1810, while in company with . Hawker then returned to Halifax and was based there until paying ''Melampus'' off in 1812 and returning to Britain to take his new command, the 74-gun .


War of 1812

Hawker commissioned ''Bellerophon'' on 11 February 1813, and preparations were made for ''Bellerophon'' to become the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir
Richard Goodwin Keats Admiral of the Blue Sir Richard Goodwin Keats, GCB (16 January 1757 – 5 April 1834) was a Royal Navy officer and colonial administrator who served in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He retired i ...
, the newly appointed Commodore-Governor of
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
. ''Bellerophon'' transported Keats to St. John's, and then sailed south to
Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...
as a convoy escort. Returning to St John's in the summer, she captured several American ships, including the 16-gun French privateer ''Genie''. She spent the rest of the year patrolling off
Cape Race Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", mean ...
, before returning to Britain with a convoy in November. 1814 was spent on similar duties, ''Bellerophon'' escorted a convoy to St John's between April and June, and then patrolled off Cape Race until December. She then moved to the Nore, and on 9 April 1815 Hawker was superseded by Captain
Frederick Lewis Maitland Rear-Admiral Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland (7 September 177730 November 1839) was an officer in the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He rose to the rank of rear admiral and held a number of commands. The most ...
. Hawker's next command was the 58-gun , ''Bellerophon''s replacement as Keats's flagship, and Hawker returned with her to Newfoundland, where he remained until Keats's posting expired.


Later life

Despite the end of the wars with France in 1815, Hawker had some further service in the navy. He became
flag-captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a " captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "Firs ...
to William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, the Commander-in-Chief at Plymouth, in 1827, and from September 1829 commanded Northesk's flagship, the 120-gun
guardship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usua ...
. Hawker went on half-pay with the expiration of Northesk's posting in 1830, and in 1837 Hawker was promoted to flag-rank. He spent his retirement as a correspondent for ''
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 ...
'', writing under the
byline The byline (or by-line in British English) on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name of the writer of the article. Bylines are commonly placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines (notably '' Reader's ...
"A Flag Officer", and became a vice-admiral in 1847 and a full admiral in 1853. One of the last of the Napoleonic-era officers by the late 1850s, he succeeded to one of the good service pensions on the death of Admiral
Frederick Whitworth Aylmer, 6th Baron Aylmer Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Frederick Whitworth Aylmer, 6th Baron Aylmer (12 October 1777 – 5 March 1858) was a British Royal Navy officer who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of ...
in 1858, and died two years later at
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
,
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
on 8 June 1860 at the age of 77 and with the rank of
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 ...
. He had married Joanna Naomi, née Poore and had several children. Four of his sons, George, Charles, James and Alfred, emigrated to Australia and (notably George) became prominent citizens there. Admiral Hawker's daughter Adelaide Mary Dorothea Hawker (1832–1906) married the noted physician Dr. Robert Liveing, a brother of
George Downing Liveing George Downing Liveing Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (21 December 1827 – 26 December 1924) was an English people, English chemist, spectroscopy, spectroscopist and university administrator. Early life He was born in Nayland, Suffolk, t ...
.


Citations


See also

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References

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawker, Edward 1782 births 1860 deaths Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars