Henry Curzon
Encyclopedia
Admiral Henry Curzon was a Royal Navy
officer who held commands during the French Revolutionary Wars
and the Napoleonic Wars
.
Curzon was the fifth son of Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Scarsdale
, and his wife Caroline. He first entered the Navy on 14 October 1776 as an able seaman
aboard . When Aeolus returned from the West Indies in 1780, he became a midshipman
aboard . Magnanime was sent out to assist in the Relief of Gibraltar in 1781, and then to the East Indies
in 1782, to reinforce the fleet under Sir Edward Hughes. Curzon transferred aboard the flagship
, , and fought in the battles of Providien
, Negapatam
, and Trincomalee
. On 1 February 1783, he received a lieutenancy on Monarca
and was with that ship at the Battle of Cuddalore
in 1783, his last action in the East.
From July 1784 to March 1790, he was successively lieutenant aboard , , and , and first lieutenant of , then flagship of Sir Richard Hughes on the North American Station. He was sent home in 1790 as acting commander of . His rank as commander was confirmed on 21 September 1790 and he was given the fireship Tisiphone. On 22 November 1790, he was promoted post captain.
In June 1791, Curzon was given the sixth rate , and was sent to Villefranche-sur-Mer
to protect British property at the capture of Nice
by the French in 1792. When France declared war in 1793, Lapwing escorted a convoy back from Gibraltar
. On 22 January 1794, Curzon was given the fifth rate frigate
, which he commanded at the Glorious First of June
and in Cornwallis's Retreat. At the latter action, Cornwallis
, in , kept Pallas close by to repeat his signals to the fleet, and Curzon was mentioned in despatches for his good performance. Pallas was lost when she went aground under Mount Batten
in a storm on 4 April 1798.
On 28 February 1799, Curzon took command of , and took part in a number of captures, including that of the corvette Vénus
in 1800, accompanying the expedition to Ferrol
in the autumn of that year. In June 1801, he was invalided out of the service due to severe ill-health. He did not return to command until 10 June 1807, when he was given the third rate . Elizabeth was part of the fleet under Sir Charles Cotton
that blockaded Lisbon
during the "Anglo-Russian War", escorted the Russians to Portsmouth
, and helped cover the evacuation after Corunna
. He was sent out to the Brazil
station in early 1809 to search for a French fleet supposed to be bound for the River Plate
. Having made a junction with the forces there and found no sign of the French, Curzon escorted a homeward-bound convoy and returned in April 1810. He found he had been appointed a Colonel of Marines on 25 October 1809. His last command was of a squadron blockading Cherbourg.
On 31 July 1810, Curzon was promoted to rear admiral
on 31 July 1810, ending his seagoing command. He obtained no further employment from the Admiralty, but he became a vice-admiral on 4 June 1814 and admiral
on 22 July 1830. He was unmarried and left no children when he died at his residence in Derby
on 2 May 1846.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer who held commands during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
Curzon was the fifth son of Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Scarsdale
Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Scarsdale
Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 5th Baronet, of Kedleston, created 1st Baron Scarsdale was an English Tory politician and peer....
, and his wife Caroline. He first entered the Navy on 14 October 1776 as an able seaman
Able Seaman (rank)
In the British Royal Navy in the middle of the 18th century, the term able seaman referred to a seaman with at least two years' experience at sea...
aboard . When Aeolus returned from the West Indies in 1780, he became a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
aboard . Magnanime was sent out to assist in the Relief of Gibraltar in 1781, and then to the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
in 1782, to reinforce the fleet under Sir Edward Hughes. Curzon transferred aboard the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
, , and fought in the battles of Providien
Battle of Providien
The Battle of Providien was the second in a series of naval battles fought between a British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and a French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren near India during the American Revolutionary War...
, Negapatam
Battle of Negapatam (1782)
The Battle of Negapatam was the third in the series of battles fought between a British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and a French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren off the coast of India during the American Revolutionary War...
, and Trincomalee
Battle of Trincomalee
The Battle of Trincomalee was the fourth in the series of battles fought between a British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and a French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren off the coast of India during the American Revolutionary War...
. On 1 February 1783, he received a lieutenancy on Monarca
Spanish ship Monarca (1756)
Monarca was a 68-gun ship of the line of the Spanish Navy, launched in 1756.She fought in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1780, in which she was captured by the Royal Navy and subsequently commissioned as the third rate HMS Monarca. She came under the command of Captain John Gell who was under the...
and was with that ship at the Battle of Cuddalore
Battle of Cuddalore (1783)
The Battle of Cuddalore was a battle between a British fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and a slightly smaller French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren off the coast of India near Cuddalore during the American Revolutionary War, which in 1780 had sparked the Second Mysore War in India...
in 1783, his last action in the East.
From July 1784 to March 1790, he was successively lieutenant aboard , , and , and first lieutenant of , then flagship of Sir Richard Hughes on the North American Station. He was sent home in 1790 as acting commander of . His rank as commander was confirmed on 21 September 1790 and he was given the fireship Tisiphone. On 22 November 1790, he was promoted post captain.
In June 1791, Curzon was given the sixth rate , and was sent to Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera.-Geography:...
to protect British property at the capture of Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
by the French in 1792. When France declared war in 1793, Lapwing escorted a convoy back from Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
. On 22 January 1794, Curzon was given the fifth rate frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
, which he commanded at the Glorious First of June
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...
and in Cornwallis's Retreat. At the latter action, Cornwallis
William Cornwallis
Admiral the Honourable Sir William Cornwallis GCB was a Royal Navy officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, governor-general of India...
, in , kept Pallas close by to repeat his signals to the fleet, and Curzon was mentioned in despatches for his good performance. Pallas was lost when she went aground under Mount Batten
Mount Batten
Mount Batten is a 24-metre-tall outcrop of rock on a 600-metre peninsula in Plymouth Sound, Devon, England.After some redevelopment which started with the area coming under the control of the Plymouth Development Corporation for five years from 1993, the peninsula now has a marina and centre for...
in a storm on 4 April 1798.
On 28 February 1799, Curzon took command of , and took part in a number of captures, including that of the corvette Vénus
French corvette Vénus (1794)
Vénus was a corvette of the French Navy that the British captured in 1800.French sources refer to her as a corvette of 28-guns, however in British service she was classified as a sloop...
in 1800, accompanying the expedition to Ferrol
Ferrol
Ferrol can refer to:* Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia * Ferrol, Virginia, town in the United States of America* Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in the Philippines* Ferrol, Peninsula, Peru, South America...
in the autumn of that year. In June 1801, he was invalided out of the service due to severe ill-health. He did not return to command until 10 June 1807, when he was given the third rate . Elizabeth was part of the fleet under Sir Charles Cotton
Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet
Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet was a senior Royal Navy officer of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars whose service continued until his death in command of the Channel Fleet from apoplexy in 1812. During his service, Cotton saw action off the Eastern Seaboard of the Thirteen Colonies and...
that blockaded Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
during the "Anglo-Russian War", escorted the Russians to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, and helped cover the evacuation after Corunna
Battle of Corunna
The Battle of Corunna refers to a battle of the Peninsular War. On January 16, 1809, a French army under Marshal Soult attacked the British under Sir John Moore...
. He was sent out to the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
station in early 1809 to search for a French fleet supposed to be bound for the River Plate
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
. Having made a junction with the forces there and found no sign of the French, Curzon escorted a homeward-bound convoy and returned in April 1810. He found he had been appointed a Colonel of Marines on 25 October 1809. His last command was of a squadron blockading Cherbourg.
On 31 July 1810, Curzon was promoted to rear admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
on 31 July 1810, ending his seagoing command. He obtained no further employment from the Admiralty, but he became a vice-admiral on 4 June 1814 and admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
on 22 July 1830. He was unmarried and left no children when he died at his residence in Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
on 2 May 1846.