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Henry Mowat

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Henry Mowat
Born1734
Scotland
Died14 April, 1798 (aged 63–64)
at sea offChesapeake Bay
AllegianceKingdom of Great Britain
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1752–1798
RankCaptain
Commands heldHMS Canceaux (1764)
HMS Albany (1776)
HMS Assistance (1781)
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War

French Revolutionary Wars

Henry Mowat(1734–1798) was an officer of theRoyal Navycommanding ships in northernNew Englandduring theAmerican Revolutionary War.He was the son of Captain Patrick Mowat of thepost shipHMSDolphin.He was born inScotlandand went to sea at the age of 18.[1]

Career[edit]

After six years as anable seamanandmidshipmanMowat was commissioned alieutenantaboard HMSBaltimorein 1758. In 1764, Lieutenant Mowat was given command of the recently purchased 16-gun[2]sloopHMSCanceaux.[1]Canceaux,with Mowat in command, conducted ahydrographic surveyof the coast ofNorth Americafrom theestuaryof theSaint Lawrence RivertoBoston.While so engaged, Mowat was ordered toPortsmouth, New Hampshirein December, 1774, to protect military supplies atFort William and Mary.Paul Reverealerted the local militia of rumored British seizure of munitions there;gunpowderwas removed from the fort bypatriotsbefore Mowat arrived, and a colonialmaritime pilotranCanceauxaground in thePiscataqua Riverestuary. It was several days before the tide refloatedCanceaux.[3]

Mowat patrolled the New England coast for smugglers[4]until ordered to Falmouth (present-dayPortland, Maine) in March, 1775 to assist aloyalistshipbuilder who was attempting to defy theContinental Associationboycott on goods manufactured inGreat Britain.Mowat was temporarily taken prisoner bymilitiafromBrunswick, MaineduringThompson's Wara few weeks after thebattles of Le xing ton and Concord.[5]Canceauxresumed coastal patrols after Falmouth loyalists negotiated Mowat's release.[6]

Mowat was ordered to undertake a punitive mission following thebattle of Machiasto "chastize" the seaports ofMarblehead,Salem,Gloucester,Ipswich,Newburyport,Portsmouth,Saco,Falmouth, andMachias.[7]Mowat left Boston aboardCanceauxon 6 October 1775 in company with the 20-gun[2]shipCat,[5]the 12-gun[2]schooner[5]HMSHalifax,[8]thebomb sloop[5]HMSSpitfire[8]and the supply ship[5]HMSSymmetry.[8][9][10]Mowat directed the flotilla's 9-hour bombardment in theBurning of Falmouthon 18 October 1775.[5]

Mowat was given command of the recently purchased 16-gunsloopHMSAlbanyin 1776. As captain ofAlbany,Mowat was the senior officer of a three-ship squadron formed with the 16-gun sloops HMSNorthandHMSNautilusto defendCastine, Maineagainst thePenobscot Expedition.Mowat skillfully anchored the sloops so they blocked the harbor entrance while their broadsides could provide mutually supportive fire with British forces ashore. He moved 6-poundercannonfrom the unengaged side of his squadron ashore for use by soldiers defending their incomplete fortifications. Mowat's squadron held the harbor against a flotilla of 15 ships mounting 290 guns; and his skillful deployment of naval artillery enabled the outnumbered British force to withstand a siege from 23 July 1779 until reinforcements arrived on 14 August 1779 to defeat the attacking colonial force.[11]

Mowat was promoted tocaptainand given command of the 50-gunfourth rateship of the lineHMSAssistancein May 1795.Assistancesailed toHalifax Harbourin March, 1796 and captured the 40-gunFrenchfrigateElizabethon 28 August 1796. Captain Mowat died ofapoplexyon 14 April 1798 whileAssistancewas cruising offChesapeake Bay.He is buried in theEpiscopalchurchyard inHampton, Virginia.[1]

Legacy[edit]

A few years before his death, Mowat wroteA Relation of the Services in which I was Engaged in America, from 1759, to the close of the American War in 1783.It was never printed, but was described as a folio in an 1843Londonbook store advertisement. Late 19th century American historians of the Revolutionary War launched an exhaustive search for the manuscript, including substantial reward offers, in the hope it might provide missing information about the early battles in which Mowat had participated. A manuscript ultimately found inEdinburghdid not meet the mythical expectations evolved through the period of searching. There was no mention of the burning of Falmouth and little new information about the Penobscot expedition.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcd"CAPTAIN HENRY MOWAT".Saint Croix Courier.Retrieved1 February2011.
  2. ^abcGoold's gun count includesswivel guns,but not themortarsof the bomb sloopSpitfire.Half (or fewer) of this count were carriage-mounted cannon. Other references indicateCanceauxcarried 8 cannon, andHalifaxcarried 6.
  3. ^"Paul Revere's Other Ride".J. Dennis Robinson. Archived fromthe originalon 26 January 2012.Retrieved24 January2012.
  4. ^"Ede's and Gill's Boston-gazette".The Library Company of Philadelphia.Retrieved24 January2012.
  5. ^abcdefGoold, WilliamThe Burning of Portland19 February 1873
  6. ^"AMERICAN MARITIME UNITS AND VESSELS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, 1775-1783)".American War of Independence at Sea.Retrieved24 January2012.
  7. ^Leamon, James S.Revolution Downeast: The War for American Independence in Maine(1995)University of Massachusetts Presspp. 69–70
  8. ^abc"The Penobscot Expedition Archaeological Project"(PDF).United States Navy. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 14 September 2012.Retrieved24 January2012.
  9. ^Symmetrymay have carried guns, because other references indicate she fired during theBattle of Bunker Hill;but Goold describes her as amagazinefor the bomb sloop during this engagement. As a safety measure to prevent loss of a ship through accidental ignition of unfired incendiarycarcasses,carcasses were transferred bylighterfrom a non-firing ship to the bomb sloop as needed.
  10. ^"October, 1775".J. Dennis Robinson.Retrieved24 January2012.
  11. ^"THE SIEGE OF PENOBSCOT".Saint Croix Courier.Retrieved2 February2011.

Further reading[edit]

  • Cornwell, Bernard (2010).The Fort.New York: HarperCollins.ISBN9780007331727.Retrieved1 September2018.A historical novel depicting the Penobscot Expedition, with a non-fiction "Historical Note" (pp. 451–468) on sources and key details.
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