Henry Hope (Captain)

Sir Henry Hope KCB (10 May 1787 – 23 September 1863) was an English officer of the Royal Navy whose distinguished service in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 earned him acclaim. As captain of HMS ''Endymion'', he was involved in the action on 14 January 1815 which ended in the capture of the American warship USS ''President''.

Early years

Hope was the eldest son of Charles Hope, the grandson of Charles Hope-Vere, and the nephew of the army officer Henry Hope who became lieutenant-governor of the Province of Quebec. On 2 April 1798, he joined the yacht on the River Thames as a 3rd Class volunteer. In May 1800, he transferred as a midshipman to the 74-gun third rate ship of the line , which was under the command of his cousin, Captain William Johnstone Hope.

''Kent'' took Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercrombie to Egypt where he commanded the British campaign to dislodge the French invasion of Egypt. She then served in blockade of Alexandria. Hope transferred to , another 74-gun third rate.

Whilst ''Swiftsure'' was at sea, her captain, Benjamin Hallowell, learnt that a French squadron under Admiral Ganteaume had put to sea. Hallowell decided to return to reinforce Sir John Warren's squadron, but on 24 June 1801 ''Swiftsure'' encountered Ganteaume's force, which quickly overtook the damaged, slow, and undermanned ''Swiftsure''. The French force consisted of four ships of the line and a frigate. The '' Indivisible'' and '' Dix-Août'' succeeded in shooting away ''Swiftsure''s yards and masts, forcing her to surrender. Two men were killed, two were mortally wounded, and another six were wounded aboard ''Swiftsure'', whilst the French lost 33 killed and wounded. Hope was taken prisoner. (The French Navy took ''Swiftsure'' into service under her existing name.)

Hope was freed in September and joined the frigate , which was under the command of Captain George Johnstone Hope. He continued to serve on ''Leda'' in the Mediterranean and the Home station under Captains John (or James) Hardy and Robert Honyman (or Honeyman).

In June 1803 Hope left ''Leda'' and transferred to the 74-gun third rates and later the under captains George Johnstone Hope and William Johnstone Hope.

Commissioned officer

Henry Hope was appointed lieutenant on 3 May 1804. He then joined Captain George Burlton in the 50-gun fourth rate , which had just spent a year undergoing refitting. Hope then sailed with Captain Ross Donnelly on the 32-gun frigate . He was with ''Narcissus'' when the British re-occupied the Cape of Good Hope on 16 January 1806.

Hope was promoted to commander on 22 January 1806 and was appointed to command the . He served on her until January 1808. Hope then served under Captain Thomas Seccombe aboard the 56-gun .

In January 1808 ''Glatton'' and the brig-sloop had received information that the French had captured four Sicilian gunboats and taken them into Scylla, near Reggio, Calabria.Hepper (1994), p.122. On 31 January 1808, as ''Delight'' approached the port, a strong current pushed her towards the shore and she grounded. Seccombe went on board ''Delight'' to supervise the recovery effort. As they were trying to free ''Delight'', her boats and those of ''Glatton'' came under intense fire from the shore. They were unsuccessful in freeing ''Delight'', and ''Delight''s captain, Commander Phillip Crosby Handfield, late of , and many of his crew were killed. Although the crew took to the boats, not all were able to escape and a number of the men on her, including Seccombe, became prisoners of war. ''Glatton'' came under the command of Commander Henry Hope (acting) until March 1808.Winfield (2008)

On 22 May 1808 Hope was made post captain. He took command of the 36-gun fifth rate frigate on 17 November.

Next, Hope took command of the 32-gun frigate on 4 May 1809. In October 1809, a squadron under Rear-Admiral George Martin, of Cuthbert Collingwood's fleet, chased an enemy convoy off the south of France. They succeeded in driving two of the three escorting ships of the line, and , ashore near Frontignan, where their crews burnt them after dismantling them and stripping them of all usable material. The crews of the third ship of the line, , and the frigate ''Pauline'' escaped into Sète.James (1837), Vol. 5, pp.143-4.

The transports that had been part of the convoy, including the armed storeship ''Lamproie'', of 18 guns, two bombards (''Victoire'' and ''Grondeur''), and the xebec ''Normande'', sailed into the Bay of Rosas where they hoped that the castle of Rosas, Fort Trinidad and several shore batteries would protect them. On 30 October ''Topaze'', and other ships sent in their boats. By the following morning the British had accounted for all eleven vessels in the bay, burning those they did not bring out. Some of the British boats took heavy casualties; ''Topaze'' lost four men killed and eight men wounded.

On 21 June 1810, the boats of and ''Topaze'' captured two vessels in the bay of Martino in Corsica.This may be San-Martino-di-Lota, near Bastia. A landing party captured a battery of three guns that protected the entrance to the bay. They were able to capture and render the guns unserviceable, and kill or wound a number of the garrison. The British lost one man killed and two wounded in the action. On 24 August ''Topaze'' captured the ''Centinelle''. ''Topaze'' was also involved in the Battle of Fuengirola in October 1810.

In 1811 Captain Hope took command of , a ''Perseverance''-class fifth-rate frigate of a nominal 36 guns. On 29 June 1811 she captured the slave ship ''Expedition'' off Mauritius. On 21 April 1812, ''Salsette'' captured the French privateer ''Comète'' in the Mediterranean. She carried two 18-pounder guns and had a crew of 45 men. Then on 14 October 1812 ''Salsette'' captured the three-masted lugger ''Mercure'' off the Isle of Wight.Ouseley reports that she was the former ''Marie Louise'' of Cherbourg. This vessel carried 16 guns and had a crew of 70, and ''Salsette'' took her into Portsmouth.

War of 1812

Captain Hope took command of on 13 May 1813. ''Endymion'' was a 40-gun fifth rate frigate that was being fitted out at Plymouth to counter the American 44-gun frigates, which had made an impact during the early engagements during the War of 1812. Hope then sailed ''Endymion'' to the Halifax station.

On 7 March 1814, ''Endymion'', and captured the American privateer ''Mars'', which was armed with 15 guns and had a crew of 70 men. In August 1814, together with ''Armide'', ''Endymion'' captured the American privateer ''Herald'', of 17 guns and 100 men. In late 1814, ''Endymion'' joined the blockading-squadron off New York.

On 11 October 1814 ''Endymion's'' boats attempted to capture the notorious American privateer '' Prince de Neufchatel'', but were unsuccessful. Becalmed on the south side of Nantucket, the ''Prince de Neufchatel'' appeared vulnerable. Captain Henry Hope thereupon sent 111 men in five boats to cut out the privateer, which was defended by 40 Americans. After 20 minutes of savage fighting British casualties amounted to 28 killed, 37 wounded, and 28 taken prisoner. The Americans reported losing 7 men killed and 24 wounded.

Capture of USS ''President''

On 14 January 1815, , under the command of Commodore Stephen Decatur, left New York for the Indian Ocean. She then fell in with the British blockading squadron, consisting of the razee (56 guns, Captain John Hayes), and the frigates ''Endymion'' (Captain Henry Hope), ''Pomone'' (38 guns, Captain John Richard Lumley), and (38 guns, Captain Hyde Parker). Immediately, the British squadron gave chase with ''Majestic'' leading. At noon, ''Endymion'', being the much better sailer, overhauled her squadron and left them behind. At 2 pm she gained on the ''President'' and shortly afterwards both ships exchanged broadsides, with ''President'' still trying to escape. ''Endymion'' was able to rake ''President'' three times and did considerable damage to her; by contrast, ''President'' primarily directed her fire at ''Endymion's'' rigging in order to slow her down.

At 7.58pm, ''President'' struck, hoisting a light in her rigging to signify her surrender. ''Endymion'' hove to and commenced repairs to her rigging. Captain Hope was unable to take immediate possession of his prize as he had no boats available that would "swim". Seeing ''Endymion'' hove to, Decatur attempted to escape, making sail at 8.30pm and running downwind. ''Endymion'' completed her hasty repairs and got under way at 9.05pm. In the meantime both ''Pomone'' and ''Tenedos'' were closing on ''President'' and by 9.05pm, ''Pomone'' had caught up, firing two broadsides at ''President'', after which Decatur once again indicated his surrender.

According to British accounts, ''President'' had lost 35 men killed and 70 wounded, including Decatur. American sources give their losses as 24 killed and 55 wounded. ''Endymion'' had 11 killed and 14 wounded.

Following the arrival of ''Endymion'' and the ''President'' in Bermuda, Captain Henry Hope was presented with a silver plate in honour of his success. Soon after Hope presented his officers with silver crooks that were probably made from that plate. The design of a crook was a play on the name ''Endymion'', which had been named after a shepherd of Classical legend. These silver crooks have been named as the Midshipman's Badge, however they were given to the Endymion's 24 officers rather than the midshipman. On 15 January 1815 Hope was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath for his role in the capture of ''President''. ''Endymion'' and ''President'' arrived at Spithead on 28 March 1815. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issue to any still surviving crew from ''Endymion'' of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Endymion wh. President".

Personal life

On 21 July 1828 Hope married Jane Sophia Sawyer, the youngest daughter of Admiral Sir Herbert Sawyer. She died in 1829.

Later career

Henry Hope was named to be an Extra Naval Aide-de-Camp to His Majesty, on 5 September 1831, and he was named to be a Naval Aide-de-Camp to His Majesty on 9 November 1846. He was appointed rear-admiral on 9 November 1846, vice-admiral on 2 April 1853, and admiral on 20 January 1858.

References

;Footnotes

;Citations

;See Also
*

;Sources
*Ellis, James H. (2009) ''A Ruinous and Unhappy War: New England and the War of 1812''. (New York: Algora Publishing).
*Gardiner, Robert (2006) ''Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars''. (Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press).
*Grocott, Terence (1997) ''Shipwrecks of the revolutionary & Napoleonic eras''. (London: Chatham).
*Hepper, David J. (1994) ''British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859''. (Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot).
*Norman, Charles Boswell (1887) ''The Corsairs of France''. (London:S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington)
*Ouseley, William (1823) ''Travels in various countries of the East, more particularly Persia''. (London:Rodwell and Martin).
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hope, Henry
1787 births
1863 deaths
Royal Navy admirals
Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
Royal Navy personnel of the War of 1812
Henry
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath