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Fleetwood Pellew

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Sir Fleetwood Pellew
Fleetwood Pellew leading the boats ofHMSTerpsichoreagainst the Dutch in 1806, depicted byGeorge Chinnery
Born(1789-12-13)13 December 1789
Died28 July 1861(1861-07-28)(aged 71)
Marseilles
AllegianceUnited Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland
Years of service1799–1861
RankAdmiral
CommandsHMSRattlesnake
HMSTerpsichore
HMSPsyche
HMSPowerful
HMSCornwallis
HMSPhaeton
HMSIphigenia
HMSResistance
AwardsKnighthood
Companion of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Royal Guelphic Order
Spouse(s)Harriet Webster (m. 1816-1849; her death)

AdmiralSir Fleetwood Broughton Reynolds PellewCBKCH(13 December 1789 – 28 July 1861) was an officer of theRoyal Navywho served during theFrench RevolutionaryandNapoleonic Wars.

He was the son of CaptainEdward Pellew,who later became an admiral andfirst Viscount Exmouth.The elder Pellew used his influence within the navy to secure positions for his two eldest sons in the service. Fleetwood received his first command when he was just 17, but seemed to justify it with his gallantry and daring, which won him the admiration of his father. His career was noted for a brief incident inNagasakiharbour while in command of the frigateHMSPhaeton,an incident that was to have important implications for Anglo-Japanese relations.

Fleetwood's doting father helped him rise through the ranks, but a tendency towards excessive harshness in command proved his downfall. He provoked a mutiny in 1814 and though he returned to sea in 1818, he received no further active commands after 1822 for thirty years. He briefly returned to service with the rank of rear-admiral and a post as commander-in-chief in the East Indies and China, but soon provoked another mutiny aboard hisflagship,and was recalled. He never again served at sea, and died in 1861 with the rank of admiral.

Family and early life

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Fleetwood Pellew was born on 13 December 1789, the second son and fourth child of CaptainEdward Pellewand his wifeSusan Frowde.[1][2]He was educated briefly atBlundell's School,Tiverton.[3]His father was promoted through the ranks of the service during theFrench RevolutionaryandNapoleonic Wars,and used his influence to find positions at sea for Fleetwood and his elder brotherPownoll.Fleetwood joined his father's ship, the 74-gunHMSImpetueux,as amidshipmanin March 1799, and followed him toHMSTonnantand then toHMSCulloden.[2]The two sailed for theEast Indiesaboard theCulloden,where on 8 September 1804 Sir Edward made Fleetwood a lieutenant aboardHMSSceptre.[2]

Ingres,Portrait of Admiral Sir Fleetwood Broughton Reynolds Pellew,1817

Fleetwood was soon back aboard theCulloden,where he distinguished himself in 1806 by leading an attack on the Dutch anchored atBatavia.Sir Edward, writing to his friend Alex Broughton in England recorded:

He led the squadron with the greatest judgement... He placed his ship ag't the Dutch frigate and batteries with equal skill and led in the boats to Boarding... I assure you, a prettier exploit I never saw. You will say Aye, Aye, here is the Father. I have done - but I assure you I say not half of what others say of him. My heart swelled when I heard a general shout on boardCulloden- Well done Fleetwood, well done, bravo - was the cry all around me. What Father could have kept his Eyes dry? I was obliged to wipe them again before I looked thro' the glass.

— Sir Edward Pellew to Alex Broughton,[4]

Sir Edward promoted Fleetwood to his first command, that of the 18-gunsloopHMSRattlesnakein 1807.[5]He was just 17 at the time.[2][4]Service on the frigatesHMSTerpsichoreandHMSPsychefollowed.[2]Fleetwood was described by his father during this time as being 'beyond comparison the finest youth of the Squadron, universally beloved', 'a real treasure' and 'the flower of my flock and the flower of my fleet'.[4]He was confirmed in the rank of commander by his father on 12 October 1807, and was appointed acting commander of the 74-gunHMSPowerful,followed by command ofHMSCornwallisin 1808.[2]He moved to the 38-gunHMSPhaetonin July 1808.[2][6]He caused a brief incident inNagasakiharbour when he anchored there in October, captured several Dutch officials and demanded supplies for his ship. The Japanese were unable to resist him, and sent the supplies.[7]Fleetwood was confirmed in his rank ofpost captainon 14 October 1808, and went on to see action in theInvasion of Île de Francein 1810 andthe reduction of Javain 1811.[2]Fleetwood sailed thePhaetonhome in August 1812, escorting a convoy ofEast Indiamen.For his services he received a present of 500 guineas and the thanks of theEast India Company.[8]

The Mediterranean

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Fleetwood was given command of the 36-gunHMSIphigeniaand sailed her to the Mediterranean.[8][9]He left theIphigeniato take command of the 46-gunHMSResistancein January 1813 and in October that year was part of an attack that silenced the batteries around Port d'Anzo and captured a convoy of 29 merchants that had taken refuge there.[8]By February 1814 though theResistancehad been ordered to return to Britain. A mutiny had broken out, which though it was quashed, led to several of the crew being condemned to death or to be flogged.[8]The proceedings eventually broke down on a technicality, but it was widely commented on that Fleetwood's harshness had provoked the men.[8][10]This marked the beginning of the decline of Pellew's career. He was appointed aCompanion of the Bathin June 1815, and went on to commandHMSRévolutionnairein the Mediterranean from August 1818 to June 1822.[8][11]After that, he was not given an active command, and spent the next thirty years on half-pay.[10]

Later years

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Pellew continued to receive promotions and awards according to his seniority. He was given aknighthoodand was appointed aKnight Commander of the Royal Guelphic Orderin January 1836.[8][12]He was made a navalaide-de-campto theQueen,promoted to rear-admiral on 9 November 1846, and in December 1852 he finally returned to active service with his appointment as commander-in-chief of theEast Indies and China Station.[8][12]

His appointment caused some concern, with questions raised over the suitability of sending Pellew, considering his age and past background, and the unhealthy climate and tense diplomatic situation following the outbreak of theSecond Anglo-Burmese War.[8]Pellew raised his flag aboardHMSWinchesterin April 1853, and by September 1854 he was offHong Kong.[8]Here he seems to have decided that he would not allow shore leave until the dangerous season for fevers and infections had passed, but neglected to make his reasoning known to his men.[8]The crew were apparently in a mutinous mood, so Pellew ordered them to beat to quarters. When they refused, he sent the officers onto the lower deck to force them up at sword point. Several of the crew were wounded and the nascent mutiny was quashed.[8]The news of these events was poorly received in Britain,The Timesincluded several leading articles drawing attention to the mutiny on theWinchester,and the one on theResistancemany years before.[8]

Pellew was duly recalled by theAdmiralty,never to serve at sea again.[8]He had been promoted to vice-admiral on 22 April 1853, and a full admiral on 13 February 1858.[8]

Sir Fleetwood Pellew died atMarseilleson 28 July 1861 at the age of 71.[8]

Marriage

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He had married Harriet Webster (1794–1849), daughter ofSir Godfrey Websterby hisfirst wife, Elizabeth,in 1816; the couple had a son, Thomas Chaplin (1818–1819), who died in infancy, and a daughter, Harriet Bettina Frances (1820–1886), who marriedLord Horatio Walpolein 1841, thus becoming Lady Walpole and eventually Countess of Orford, when her husband succeeded to theearldom of Orfordin 1858.[8][13][14]

Harriet died in 1849, and Fleetwood married Cecile Drummond de Melfort in 1851, but the two divorced in 1859.[8][15]

Admiral Pellew was buried with his first wife, Harriet (néeWebster), in theEnglish Cemetery, Florence.[16]

See also

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  • O'Byrne, William Richard (1849)."Pellew, Fleetwood Broughton Reynolds".A Naval Biographical Dictionary.John Murray– viaWikisource.
  • Laughton, J. K.(1895)."Pellew, Fleetwood Broughton Reynolds".InLee, Sidney(ed.).Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 44. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

Notes

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  1. ^Dodsley.TheAnnual Register.p. 482.
  2. ^abcdefghLaughton (1895). "Pellew, Sir Fleetwood Broughton Reynolds (1789–1861)".Dictionary of National Biography.p. 270.
  3. ^Fisher, Arthur (1904).The register of Blundell's school, with introduction and appendices.J. G. Commin.Retrieved3 November2013.fleetwood pellew.
  4. ^abcTaylor.Storm and Conquest.p. 15.
  5. ^Winfield.British Warships of the Age of Sail.p. 231.
  6. ^Winfield.British Warships of the Age of Sail.p. 128.
  7. ^Martin.China.p. 305.
  8. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrLaughton (1895). "Pellew, Sir Fleetwood Broughton Reynolds (1789–1861)".Dictionary of National Biography.p. 271.
  9. ^Winfield.British Warships of the Age of Sail.p. 147.
  10. ^abTaylor.Storm and Conquest.pp. 343–344.
  11. ^Winfield.British Warships of the Age of Sail.p. 151.
  12. ^abDodsley.TheAnnual Register.p. 483.
  13. ^The Annual Biography and Obituary.p. 28.
  14. ^Lodge, Edmund(1844).The Peerage of the British Empire as at Present Existing.London: Saunders and Otley. p. 216.
    andBurke's Peerage(99th ed.). 1949. p. 732.,for dates of death that occurred after Lodge was published.
  15. ^(His second wife went on to have children by George Lennox Rawdon Berkeley, later 7th Earl of Berkeley (1827–1888). Of their three sons, the elder surviving son was unable to succeed to the barony by virtue of illegitimacy but left male-line issue till date. The third and younger surviving son wasRandal Thomas Mowbray Berkeley, 8th and last Earl of Berkeley(1865–1942), who leftBerkeley Castleto his distant male-line cousins, whose descendants now own the castle.
  16. ^"ChapterA".Florin.ms.Retrieved5 June2018.

References

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  • Dodsley, James (1862).Annual Register.J. Dodsley.
  • Martin, Robert Montgomery(1847).China: Political, Commercial, and Social; in an Official Report to Her Majesty's Government.Vol. 1. J. Madden.
  • The Annual Biography and Obituary.Vol. 10. Longman. 1834.
  • Taylor, Stephen (2008) [2007].Storm and Conquest: The Battle for the Indian Ocean, 1809.Faber.ISBN978-0-571-22467-8.
  • Winfield, Rif (2007).British Warships of the Age of Sail 1794–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.Seaforth.ISBN978-1-86176-246-7.
Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China Station
1852–1854
Succeeded by