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 ...

Henry Wolsey Bayfield (21 January 1795 – 10 February 1885) was a British naval officer and surveyor.

Early life and career

Bayfield was born in

Kingston-upon-Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

, to John Wolsey Bayfield and Eliza Petit. His family was an ancient one, who at one time lived at Bayfield Hall in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. Henry was inspired by the naval victories of Admiral Lord Nelson, who died at the scene of his greatest victory, the Battle of Trafalgar, the year before Henry joined the Navy. While his education is unknown, he joined 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 ...

on 6 January 1806 at the age of 10, as a volunteer on . That same year, he was on the ship when it defeated a French

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 ...

. At

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

, he was transferred to , and shortly after to HMS ''Duchess of Bedford''. In this particular ship, he was wounded in a battle with two Spanish ships near

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

; for his good work in this episode, he was transferred as a first class volunteer to , on 29 September 1806, on which over the next four years he was involved in a number of battles. He was rated

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

in 1810, and saw

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 ...

for the first time in the same year, at the age of 15. In April 1811, he transferred to , and worked in many different places, including the coast of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, 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

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

.Morgan, p.481 He was commissioned as 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 ...

on 20 March 1815, and in the summer of 1816 assisted Captain

William Fitzwilliam Owen Vice Admiral William Fitzwilliam Owen (17 September 1774 – 3 November 1857), was a British naval officer and explorer. He is best known for his exploration of the west and east African coasts, discovery of the Seaflower Channel off the coa ...

in surveying various Canadian rivers and lakes. There are works in the art collection of the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

by Admiral Henry Wolsey Bayfield (1795-1885).

Admiralty surveyor

In June 1817, Bayfield was made the admiralty surveyor for North America. He surveyed

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

and

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

, among many others. After several years surveying the lakes in North America, he returned to England in the autumn of 1825, and completed several charts of the lakes. He was promoted

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 1826, and the following year, he travelled to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

to complete surveys of the

St Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

Later career

Bayfield was 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 ...

on 4 June 1834, and on 2 April 1838, he married Fanny, who was the only daughter of General Charles Wright; they had six children together. In 1841 his headquarters were moved to

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, so that the survey could be continued. On 21 October 1856, he was promoted

Rear-Admiral of the Blue Rear-Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Rear-Admiral of the White. Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admiral, vice admiral and admira ...

, and subsequently

Rear-Admiral of the White Rear-Admiral of the White was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Rear-admiral of the red (see order of precedence below). Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear ...

on 8 December 1857, Rear Admiral of the Red on 9 August 1861, and

Vice-Admiral of the Blue Vice-Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Vice-Admiral of the White (see order of precedence below). Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear a ...

on 27 April 1863, and Vice Admiral of the Red on 11 January 1864. He retired on 31 March 1866, and was promoted admiral on the retired list on 18 October 1867. Over a period of over 20 years, he wrote a book entitled ''Sailing directions for the Gulf and River of St. Lawrence'', that was published in instalments. It was later republished in 1860 as ''The St. Lawrence pilot''. Several ships which served in the

Canadian Hydrographic Service ''Retired Canadian Hydrographic Service logo or crest'' The Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) is part of the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and is Canada's authoritative hydrographic office. The CHS represents Canada in ...

or its predecessors have been named in his honour. He died in Charlottetown on 10 February 1885, at the age of 90.

Legacy

Henry Wolsey Bayfield's journal, kept between 1829 and 1853 and covering his surveying efforts of the St Lawrence, was edited by Ruth Mackenzie and republished in two volumes between 1984 and 1986 by the Champlain Society. Although Bayfield's surveys of Lakes Erie and Huron were detailed and accurate, he regretted also that his measurements were not more exact: "There are few things I should wish more than to improve the accuracy of the Lake Surveys rie and Huron... in consequence of my avingonly open boats & no good chronometer. "He is the namesake of Bayfield, Ontario, Bayfield, Wisconsin, Bayfield, New Brunswick and Bayfield, Nova Scotia. Bayfield Street, a major road in

Barrie, Ontario Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is par ...

, is also named after him. Others rose in rank and experience under his mentorship, including Captain John Orlebar, R.N. who went on to create a hydrographic survey of the Newfoundland coast for the Admiralty and advised in the site selection for new light houses, fog horns and other safety measures to improve the safety of the rocky coast.

Early life and career

Admiralty surveyor

Later career

Legacy

References

See also