Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Samuel Hood Linzee (27 December 1773 – 1 September 1820) 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 who served in the

French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (sometimes called the Great French War or the Wars of the Revolution and the Empire) were a series of conflicts between the French and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompas ...

Biography

Linzee was born in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, Devon, the son of John Linzee and Susannah Inman, and named in honour of

Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood (12 December 1724 – 27 January 1816) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action during the War of the Austrian Succession. While in temporary command ...

, who was married to his father's cousin, Susannah. His father was a Royal Navy captain, and had served during the American War, commanding the sloop from October 1774 until after July 1776, and saw action at the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Boston, Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peri ...

in 1775. Although his infant son Samuel's name appeared on the ship's muster roll as captain's servant and senior clerk, it is highly improbable that Samuel was on board the ship, but it did count towards the years of sea time necessary for all candidates for 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 ...

's commission. Samuel Linzee subsequently received his on 21 July 1790, aged only sixteen and a half. He was promoted 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 ...

on 5 November 1793, and 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 8 March 1794, only two months past his 20th birthday, and given command of the 28-gun

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works an ...

frigate . On 9 December 1795, the French frigate ''Sensible'' and corvette ''Sardine'' captured ''Nemesis'' while she was at anchor in the neutral port of

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

. ''Nemesis'' did not resist and Linzee protested the illegality of the action. The British frigates ''Aigle'' and blockaded the three ships until Ganteaume's squadron drove the British ships off. The French sailed ''Nemesis'' to

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

in January 1796, but the British recaptured her on 9 March. Linzee travelled home via Venice, Vienna, Dresden, Prague, and Berlin, and eventually returned to England in a packet boat from Hamburg in mid-1796. At 8 a.m. on 26 January 1801, Linzee, newly in command of the 36-gun frigate, ''Oiseau'' (the former ) sighted the French 36-gun frigate , which was bound from

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Caye ...

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the G ...

with despatches. The ''Oiseau'' pursued ''Dédaigneuse'' alone until noon the next day when, with

Cape Finisterre Cape Finisterre (, also ; ; ) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. The name Finisterre, like that of Finistère in France, derives from the Latin , mean ...

in sight, the frigates and joined the chase. Eventually ''Dédaigneuse'' surrendered to the ''Oiseau'' around 2.45 p.m. on the 28th, and was taken into service in the Royal Navy. Linzee commanded the

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently de ...

ship during the Battle of Copenhagen on 2 April 1801, and was in the fleet of Rear Admiral

George Campbell George Campbell may refer to: Sportsmen *George Campbell (rugby union) (1872–1924), Scotland international rugby union player * George Campbell (footballer, born 1957), Scottish footballer * George Campbell (footballer, born 1864) (1864–1898) ...

which sailed from England 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 ...

in 1802, and returned to England in May of that year. He commanded the 74-gun from early 1805 until April 1806, and was part of Sir

Robert Calder Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, (2 July 174531 August 1818) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. For much of his career he w ...

's fleet when he engaged a combined French and Spanish fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre on 22 July 1805. In February 1807 Linzee was appointed commander of the 74-gun ship . One of his first duties, on 6 March, was to sit on the court martial of Sir

Home Riggs Popham Rear-Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham, KCB, KCH (12 October 1762 – 20 September 1820), was a Royal Navy officer and politician who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is known for his scientific accomplishments, particula ...

after the failed invasion of South America. On 19 July 1807 he commanded ''Maida'' in the bombardment of Copenhagen and the capture of the Danish fleet. Linzee went to command the for a brief period in January and February 1809, the from 1809 to 1811, the from August 1810 to December 1811, in March 1812, and then the from April to August 1812. He was appointed a

Colonel of Marines Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion ...

on 20 July 1811. Linzee was promoted to the

flag rank A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

of Rear Admiral of the Blue on 12 August 1812, then to Rear Admiral of the White on 4 December 1812, Rear Admiral of the Red on 4 June 1813, and finally to Vice-Admiral of the Blue on 12 August 1819.

Death

Linzee died on 1 September 1820, at his home at Stonehouse, Devon, at the age of 46, after an attack of

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

caused him to fall from his horse a few days before. A monument can be found in the north aisle of the Church of St. Andrews, Plymouth.

Personal life

Linzee first married Miss J. Clark, at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, in July 1799. She and her baby died during childbirth on 28 August 1800, at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

. On 7 September 1802 Linzee married Emily Wooldridge, the daughter of Captain William Wooldridge, at

St Andrew's Church, Plymouth The Minster Church of St Andrew, also known as St Andrew's Church, Plymouth is an Anglican church in Plymouth, Devon in England. It is the original parish church of Sutton, one of the three towns which were later combined to form the city of Pl ...

. They had nine children; the first three, all boys, were stillborn, while the fourth, named Samuel Hood Linzee, was born in August 1806, but died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

on 26 December the same year. The fifth child, Emily Wooldridge Linzee, was born on 27 September 1807. The sixth, also Samuel Hood Linzee, was born on 19 December 1809, and was drowned off

Cape Frio Cabo Frio (, ''Cold Cape'') is a tourist destination located in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian coast runs east from Rio de Janeiro to Cabo Frio where it turns sharply north. North of Cabo Frio is Cabo de São Tomé. It was named afte ...

on 11 July 1831, aged only 22, while serving as a lieutenant aboard . The seventh child, John Linzee was born 22 September 1812, while the eighth, Susanna Inman Linzee, was born on 17 December 1815. The ninth and final child, Mary Ann Charlotte Linzee was born on 26 January 1818.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linzee, Samuel Hood 1773 births 1820 deaths Royal Navy vice admirals