Lord Hugh Seymour
Lord Hugh Seymour | |
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Other work | MP for Newport, Tregony, Wendover and Portsmouth |
Seymour maintained a reputation as a courageous and innovative officer: he was awarded a commemorative medal for his actions at the battle of the
Early career
Hugh Seymour was born in 1759 into one of the wealthiest families in England, as the fifth son of
In 1779, Seymour was promoted once more, making
Following the
In May 1791 Hugh Seymour became president of the Hambledon Cricket Club, joining a band of like-minded Royal Navy Officers such as Captains Erasmus Gower, Robert Calder, Charles Powell Hamilton, Mark Robinson, Sir Hyde Parker and Robert Linzee.[4]
French Revolutionary Wars
In the Spanish armament of 1790, Seymour was called to service in command of the
Transferred to the Channel Fleet, Leviathan was attached to service under Lord Howe and served with him during the Atlantic campaign of May 1794 alongside John Willett Payne, captain of HMS Russell. The campaign culminated in the Glorious First of June, when a French fleet was defeated by Howe's innovative tactics, but was ultimately successful in protecting a large grain convoy from the United States. Seymour's command of Leviathan was vitally important in the victory, the ship fighting at the initial engagement of the 28 May and seeing extensive action during the battle itself. Seymour was one of only a few of Howe's commanders to successfully close with the French line, although he was unable to break through it.[7] Leviathan then engaged closely with America, which she reduced to a battered wreck in a duel that lasted two hours. Leviathan was also badly damaged, having taken fire from Éole and Trajan during the fighting.[8] At Howe's order, Seymour then left America (which was later captured) and joined the reformed fleet that held off a French counter-attack in the latter stages of the battle.[9] In the aftermath of the action, Seymour was one of the captains marked out for praise, being presented with a medal commemorating his service during the engagement.[10] Leviathan had suffered 11 killed and 32 wounded in the engagement.[11]
In 1795, Seymour moved to the recently captured
Admiralty service and death
Seymour had joined the
In 1799 Seymour was sent to the West Indies as commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands Station.[16] In August he led the naval squadron in the capture of Surinam in his flagship Prince of Wales.[17] In 1800 he went on to be commander-in-chief of the Jamaica Station.[18]
However, in 1801 he fell ill, contracting
Seymour's body was taken from Jamaica on the morning of 17 September 1801, for return to Britain aboard HMS Pickle (originally a Bermudian-built merchant vessel named Sting)[19] and joined that of his wife, who had died in Bristol a few days before her husband's death.[2] His extensive estates were dispersed amongst his seven children, of whom six survived him:
- Adm. of the Flt. Sir George Seymour (1787–1870), father of the 5th Marquess of Hertford and a Princess (Laura, Princess Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg)
- Lt-Col. Hugh Henry John Seymour (1790–1821)
- Col. Sir Horace Beauchamp Seymour (1791 – 1851)
- William John Richard Seymour (1793–1801)
- Frederick Charles William Seymour (1 February 1797 – 7 December 1856), married Lady Mary Gordon (d. 13 June 1825), daughter of George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly, on 15 April 1822, and Lady Augusta Hervey (d. 17 March 1880), daughter of Frederick Hervey, 1st Marquess of Bristol, on 18 September 1832
- Horatia Maria Frances Seymour (c. 1796 – 26 August 1853), married John Philip Morier in 1814
- Mary Georgiana Seymour (d. 30 October 1848), married George Dawson-Damer in 1825
Seymour's death was widely mourned among his contemporaries, Lord St. Vincent once describing him as "an excellent officer".
Legacy
The Royal Navy has named two ships after Seymour. The first HMS Seymour was a destroyer leader that was launched in 1916, saw service in World War I, and was sold in 1930. The second HMS Seymour (K563) was a frigate active from 1943 to 1946 that served during World War II.[21]
Ancestry
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References
Citations
- ^ The Naval Chronicle, 1799 Vol. II, p. 359
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, A. W. H. Pearsall, (subscription required) Retrieved 16 December 2007
- ^ The Naval Chronicle, 1799 Vol. II, p. 362
- ISBN 9780958702126.
- ^ a b The Naval Chronicle, 1799 Vol. II, p. 364
- ^ Bates 2017, p. 165
- ^ James, p. 157
- ^ James, p. 156
- ^ James, p. 151
- ^ James, p. 181
- ^ James, p. 152
- ^ James, p. 246
- ^ James, p. 248
- ^ The Naval Chronicle, 1799 Vol. II, p. 369
- ^ "No. 13757". The London Gazette. 13 March 1795. p. 206.
- ^ Haydn, Joseph (13 June 2008). The Book of Dignities: Containing Lists of the Official Personages of the British Empire ... from the Earliest Periods to the Present Time ... Together with the Sovereigns and Rulers of Europe, from the Foundation of Their Respective States; the Peerage of England and Great Britain Original 1851 Digitized by the University of Michigan. Longmans, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 279.
- ^ "No. 15194". The London Gazette. 12 October 1799. pp. 1049–1053.
- ^ Cundall, p. xx
- ^ The Bermuda Gazette, Page 2. Stockdale House, Printer's Alley, St. George's Town, St. George's Island, St. George's Parish, Bermuda. 28th November, 1801
- ^ Lord Hugh Seymour (1759–1801), National Maritime Museum, Retrieved 19 September 2008
- ^ Captain Class Frigate Association: HMS Seymour K563 (DE 98)
- ^ McEwen (1988), p. 238.
Bibliography
- "Lord Hugh Seymour (1759–1801)". National Maritime Museum, Retrieved on 19 September 2008.
- Clarke, James Stanier; et al. (1799). Biographical Memoir of the Right Honourable Lord Hough Seymour. Vol. II. pp. 357–370.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (help) - Cundall, Frank (1915). Historic Jamaica. West India Committee.
- De Langlais, Tugdual (2017), Marie-Etienne Peltier, Capitaine Corsaire de la République (in French), Coiffard, ISBN 9782919339471.
- OCLC 165702223.
- McEwen, Alec (July 1988), "The English Place-Names of the Galápagos", The Geographical Journal, vol. 154, London: Royal Geographical Society, pp. 234–242, JSTOR 633849.
- Pearsall, A.W.H. "Seymour, Lord Hugh". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.