The Atlantic campaign of 1806.

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Captain Sir Samuel Hood.




He was the son of Alexander Hood (son of Alexander Hood and Elizabeth, née Beach), and Ann, née Way, He entered the Royal Navy in 1776 at the start of the American Revolutionary War. His first engagement was the First Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778, and, soon afterwards transferred to the West Indies, he was present, under the command of his cousin, at all the actions which culminated in Admiral George Rodney's victory of 12 April 1782 in the Battle of the Saintes.

After the peace, like many other British naval officers, Hood spent some time in France, and on his return to England was given the command of a sloop, from which he proceeded in succession to various frigates. In the 32-gun fifth-rate frigate Juno his gallant rescue of some shipwrecked seamen won him a vote of thanks and a sword of honour from the Jamaica assembly.

French Revolutionary Wars.

Early in 1793, after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, Hood went to the Mediterranean in Juno under his cousin Lord Hood, and distinguished himself by an audacious feat of coolness and seamanship in extricating his vessel from the harbour of Toulon, which he had entered in ignorance of Lord Hood's withdrawal. In 1795, in Aigle, he was put in command of a squadron for the protection of Levantine commerce, and in early 1797 he was given command of the 74-gun ship of the line Zealous, in which he was present at Admiral Horatio Nelson's unsuccessful attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Captain Hood conducted the negotiations which relieved the squadron from the consequences of its failure.

Napoleonic Wars.

Zealous played an important part at the Battle of the Nile. Her first opponent was put out of action in twelve minutes. Hood immediately engaged other ships, the Guerriere being left powerless to fire a shot.
When Nelson left the coast of Egypt, Hood commanded the blockading force off Alexandria and Rosetta. Later he rejoined Nelson on the coast of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, receiving for his services the order of St Ferdinand.
In the 74-gun third-rate Venerable Hood was present at the Battle of Algeciras on 8 July 1801 and the action in the Straits of Gibraltar that followed. In the Straits his ship suffered heavily, losing 130 officers and men.
In 1802, Hood was employed in Trinidad as a commissioner, and, upon the death of the flag officer commanding the Leeward Islands Station, he succeeded him as Commodore. Island after island fell to him, and soon, outside Martinique, the French had scarcely a foothold in the West Indies. Amongst other measures Hood took one may mention the garrisoning of Diamond Rock, which he commissioned as a sloop-of-war to blockade the approaches of Martinique. For these successes he was, amongst other rewards, appointed a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath (KB).

In command next of the squadron blockading Rochefort, Sir Samuel Hood lost an arm during the Action of 25 September 1806 against a French frigate squadron. Promoted to Rear Admiral a few days after this action, Hood was in 1807 entrusted with the operations against Madeira, which he brought to a successful conclusion.

In 1808 Hood sailed to the Baltic Sea, with his flag in the 74-gun Centaur, to take part in the Russo-Swedish war. In one of the actions of this war Centaur and Implacable, while unsupported by the Swedish ships (which lay to leeward), cut out the Russian 50-gun ship Sevolod from the enemy's line and, after a desperate fight, forced her to strike. King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden rewarded Admiral Hood with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword. He became a baronet on 1 April 1809.

Late career.

Present in the roads off Coruña at the re-embarkation of the army of Sir John Moore after the Battle of Coruña, Hood thence returned to the Mediterranean, where for two years he commanded a division of the British fleet. In 1811 he became a Vice Admiral.

In his last command, that of the East Indies Station, he carried out many salutary reforms, especially in matters of discipline and victualling. He died without issue at Madras in 1814, having married Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie, eldest daughter and heiress of Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth.

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Captain Lord Henry Paulet.



Henry Paulet was born in 1767, the younger son of George Paulet, 12th Marquess of Winchester, and a brother to Charles Paulet, the future 13th Marquess of Winchester. Paulet joined the navy as a midshipman during the later years of the American War of Independence. He spent 11 years at this rank, during which time he was present at Admiral Sir George Rodney's victory at the Battle of the Saintes. He was made junior lieutenant aboard HMS Crown at Spithead in early February 1789. The Crown then became flagship of Commodore William Cornwallis, who sailed with a squadron to India. Paulet reached Tenerife with the ship, but on the squadron's arrival there he was transferred to the frigate HMS Phoenix in exchange for one of the Phoenix's lieutenants. Paulet completed the voyage to India with the Phoenix, but shortly after his arrival he learnt that he was not to be taken back aboard the Crown. He was invalided back to Britain aboard the East Indiaman Houghton.

Promotion and command.

Paulet was appointed to HMS Vulcan in 1791, still as a lieutenant, though he was moved to HMS Assistance in April 1792. On 20 February 1793 Paulet received a promotion to master and commander, and command of the sloop HMS Nautilus. He commanded the Nautilus as part of John Laforey's naval force that captured Tobago on 15 April 1793. He was promoted again to post-captain on 9 January 1794 and was given command of HMS Vengeance by Sir John Jervis. Paulet served as flag captain to Commodore Charles Thompson at the capture of Martinique.

Command of HMS Astraea.

After this success, Paulet returned to Britain and was given command of the 32-gun fifth rate HMS Astraea, cruising in the English Channel under the orders of Sir John Colpoys. While sailing in thick fog on 10 April 1795 three sails were spotted through a break. Identifying them as enemy frigates Paulet gave chase to one of them. He closed the distance, and after foiling an attempt from the French ship to rake the Astraea, Paulet came alongside and the two ships exchanged broadsides for nearly an hour before the French ship struck. She was discovered to be the 42-gun Gloire, with 275 men aboard. She had suffered casualties of 40 killed and wounded, while Astraea, of 32 guns and 212 men, had only eight wounded. For this feat Paulet was awarded the Naval Gold Medal.

Command of HMS Thalia.

Paulet's next command was the 36-gun frigate HMS Thalia, attached to Lord Bridport's fleet. He was present at the Battle of Groix, afterwards taking on board the fleet's flag captain, William Domett, and one of the captured French captains. The Thalia almost ran onto rocks while rounding Ushant, but Paulet was able to get her off safely. While returning to the fleet two frigates were spotted in the distance, which Domett feared might be French. In reply Paulet pointed to the guns on the maindeck and said 'Never mind Domett, those are 18-pounders, and hit hard.'
Paulet and the Thalia continued to serve in the Channel until January 1797, when they were sent with Rear-Admiral William Parker to reinforce John Jervis's fleet prior to the Battle of Cape St Vincent. Thalia was not present at the battle though, having been attached to the Mediterranean Fleet a few days earlier. While in the Mediterranean he captured the 16-gun corvette Espoir, and several French and Spanish privateers.

It was about this time that an incident occurred that temporarily clouded his career. In a moment of anger he struck one of the Thalia's lieutenants, Robert Forbes. He was brought to court-martial on 12 June 1798 aboard HMS Prince, and the offence being proved, the court had no choice but to dismiss him from the service. In view of the mitigating circumstances, the court recommended that Paulet be considered for clemency by King George III. The King was pleased to follow the recommendation and reinstated Paulet in the service.

Paulet then received command of the 74-gun HMS Defence. He went with Sir Hyde Parker to the Baltic in 1801 and while he and the Defence were present at the Battle of Copenhagen, they were kept with Parker's reserve squadron and took no part in the fighting.

The Defence was paid off with the conclusion of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, though the resumption of hostilities led to Paulet's return to service as captain of HMS Terrible. He commanded her in the blockades of the French and Spanish ports, and by 1806 he was in the West Indies. In August that year the Terrible was caught in a hurricane, completely dismasted and almost wrecked.

Personal and later life.

Paulet was something of an eccentric. On one occasion, while his ship was moored at Spithead, he asked his admiral for permission to take leave to visit London. This was refused, with the comment that Paulet could travel as far on land as he could get in his barge. Thus challenged, Paulet loaded his barge onto a cart and went off to London anyway.

He became a Colonel of Royal Marines on 1 August 1811, and advanced to rear-admiral on 12 August 1812. He replaced William Johnstone Hope as one of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty in 1813, holding the position until being forced to retire in 1816 due to ill health. On 2 January 1815, Paulet was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, and in 1819 was promoted to vice-admiral. On 26 October 1813, he married Anna-Maria Ravenscroft, with whom he had two sons and three daughters.

Increasingly ill during his last years from cancer, that it was believed had been brought on by a fall against a slide of one of the carronades aboard the Terrible, Paulet died on 28 January 1832 at his seat of Westhill Lodge, Tichfield, Hampshire. He was buried in the family vault at Amport on 3 February.