49-622: Admiral Henry John Rous (23 January 1795 – 19 June 1877) was an officer of the British Royal Navy , who served during the Napoleonic Wars , and was later a Member of Parliament and a leading figure in horse racing. Rous was the second son of John Rous, 1st Earl of Stradbroke , and was educated at Westminster School , and Dr. Burney's Academy . His elder brother was John Rous, 2nd Earl of Stradbroke , and his half-sister married Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Hotham . Aged just 13, Rous entered
98-407: A personal flag . An admiral of the fleet flies a Union Flag at the masthead, while an admiral flies a St George's cross (red cross on white). Vice admirals and rear admirals fly a St George's cross with one or two red discs in the hoist, respectively. The rank of admiral itself is shown in its sleeve lace by a broad band with three narrower bands. In 2001 the number of stars on the shoulder board
147-468: A Carthagenian privateer. On 1 January 1814 Sappho captured Ann . On 7 June 1814, O'Grady advanced to Post-captain while with Sappho on the Jamaica station . Sappho underwent repairs at Chatham in 1815. However, she was not fitted for sea until February to May 1818. On 2 February 1818 she was recommissioned under Commander James Hanway Plumridge , for Cork . He commanded her at Saint Helena and
196-414: A crew of 120 men and boys. Admiral Yawl was a brig, but unusual in that she had her armament on two decks; on her first or lower deck she had twelve 18-pounder carronades and on her second, or principal deck, she carried sixteen 6-pounder guns. Her crew consisted of 83 men and boys. The weight of the broadsides favored Sappho at 262 pounds versus 156 pounds for Admiral Yawl , as did the relative size of
245-407: A month before the declaration of war. Sappho had intervened to enable the merchant vessel Fernando (or Fernandeno ), to escape the port of Fernandina, Florida's Port of Fernandina . With the approval of President James Madison and Georgia Governor George Mathews , insurgents known as the "Patriots of Amelia Island " had seized the island. After raising a Patriot flag, they replaced it with
294-689: A permanent official staff, even if a permanent naval force was not yet considered necessary. Leybourne's immediate purview was subsequently divided into the roles of Admiral of the West and Admiral of the South while Botetourt's became the Admiral of the North ; the first and last merged as the Admiral of the North and West in 1364; and from 1408–1414 they were all reunited as the High Admiral of England, Ireland, and Aquitaine ,
343-647: A single-ship action during the Gunboat War , and then had a notably successful two months of prize-taking in the first year of the War of 1812 . She was wrecked in 1825 off the Canadian coast and then broken up in 1830. Sappho was commissioned in February 1807 under Commander George Langford. On 7 September she was present at the Battle of Copenhagen . On 8 January 1808 Sappho and
392-672: A steward of the Jockey Club in 1838, a position he held, almost uninterrupted, until his death. In 1855, he was appointed public handicapper . In that role he introduced the weight-for-age scale. For many years, he managed the stables of the Duke of Bedford at Newmarket , and wrote On the Laws and Practice of Horse Racing that procured for him the title of the Blackstone of the Turf . The Rous Memorial Stakes
441-577: Is air chief marshal . The title admiral was not used in Europe until the mid-13th century and did not reach England before the end of that century. Similarly, although some royal vessels are attested under King John , the English long depended upon levies of their subjects' vessels for any major naval expeditions. Nonetheless, historians have sometimes extended the concept of an English navy and its supposed admirals and lord high admirals back as far as Alfred
490-625: Is known as Rous County , although counties are not widely recognised in Australia and are mainly used for cadastral purposes. While in Moreton Bay , he named the Rous Channel, Dunwich , and Stradbroke Island , after his family titles, and influenced the naming of Ipswich, Queensland . Rous returned to England in August 1829 and, from November 1834, commanded the frigate Pique . His ship ran ashore on
539-504: The Venetian government , together with French xebec Tisiphone and two gunboats and, on 6 January 1813, the boats of Bacchante and the sloop Weazel successfully captured five enemy gun-vessels in the neighbourhood of Otranto . On 15 May 1813, he assisted at the capture and destruction of the castle and batteries of Karlobag and, on 12 June, he commanded the Bacchante ' s yawl in
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#1732858141679588-682: The sixth-rate Hind in the Mediterranean from February 1822. Rous was promoted to post-captain on 25 April 1823 and, from July 1825, commanded Rainbow in the East Indies . He visited Australia and, in April 1827, organised Sydney 's first regatta . In August 1828, he explored the Tweed , and explored and named the Richmond River , both in north-eastern New South Wales . The area between those rivers
637-621: The American privateer Saucy Jack , of seven guns and 110 men, had captured Eliza , Lane, master, and Sisters , Butterfield, master, near the Tortugas as they were sailing from Bermuda to Jamaica. Sappho took Eliza into Jamaica. Next, Sappho recaptured the brig San Francisco Xavier on 3 December. A Carthaginian privateer had captured San Francisco off Baracoa as she was sailing from Teneriffe and Puerto Rico to Havana. Sappho took San Francisco into Jamaica. Two days later Sappho captured
686-688: The Baltic. In March 1811, he joined Tonnant , Captain John Gore , employed off Lisbon and in the Channel and, from December 1811, he served in the frigate Bacchante , Captain William Hoste , taking part in the Adriatic campaign . There Rous took part in numerous actions. On the night of 31 August 1812 he was involved in the cutting out from the port of Lema, near Venice, of seven vessels loaded with ship timbers for
735-928: The Crown in a spirit of reprisal against the British after the Battle of Copenhagen (1807) . The Government commissioned, manned, and armed Admiral Yawl . Jorgenson reports that by cutting through the ice a month before it was expected that any vessel could get out, he was able to come unawares among the English traders and capture eight or nine ships before Sappho interrupted his cruise. In April Commander William Charleton replaced Langford. Charleton then sailed Sappho for Jamaica on 22 June. In 1810 Commander Thomas Graves took command, followed by Commander Edmund Denman in late 1810. Commander Hayes O'Grady had been appointed to command of her on 15 June 1810, but apparently did not take actual command until 1811. On 13 May 1812, Sappho fired on U.S. Navy Gunboat No. 168. This occurred about
784-447: The Great , counting several kings as themselves admirals, along with various dukes and earls who commanded fleets at prominent engagements such as Hubert de Burgh off Sandwich in 1217 . Other lists begin their count at King Henry III 's appointment of Sir Richard de Lucy on 28 August 1223 or 29 August 1224. A similar commission was given to Sir Thomas Moulton in 1264, who held
833-596: The Irish station. On 13 August 1820 Sappho and Plumridge captured the American vessel Liberty , and the next day they captured the American vessel Clinton , both smugglers. On 12 October Sappho captured the American smuggling schooner Maria . One of the three vessels had 400 bales of tobacco. Commander Henry John Rous took command in November 1820. In early 1821 Sappho sailed to Cape Town via Lisbon. In Lisbon she took on six survivors from Abeona , which had burnt in
882-428: The Mediterranean. From January 1817, he served aboard Conqueror , the flagship of Rear-Admiral Robert Plampin at Saint Helena and, on 2 August, was appointed acting- commander of the 14-gun sloop Podargus . His promotion being confirmed on 26 November 1817, he was then appointed to Mosquito , finally returning to England in mid-1819. He then commanded the brig-sloop Sappho at Cork from November 1821, and
931-802: The Navy on 28 January 1808 as first-class volunteer on board the Royal William , under the command of Captain the Honourable Courtenay Boyle , and the flagship of Sir George Montagu , the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth . In February 1809, he moved into the 74-gun Repulse , Captain the Hon. Arthur Kaye Legge . After taking part in the Walcheren Campaign , in November 1809 he became a midshipman aboard Victory , flagship of Sir James Saumarez in
980-690: The North Atlantic while carrying emigrants from Scotland to South Africa. Commander William Bruce replaced Rous in March 1822. In February 1822 she was under Commander Jenkin Jones for the Halifax station. Still, on 16 November 1823 Sappho picked up some spirits at sea. For this the Board of Customs granted a reward to her officers and men. In April 1824 Commander William Hotham took command. His replacement in April 1825
1029-621: The Retired List on 6 June 1863. Admiral Rous died at 13 Berkeley Square in London on 19 June 1877. He is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery , London. Admiral (Royal Navy) Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy , which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9 , outranked only by the rank of admiral of the fleet . Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of rear admiral , vice admiral and admiral of
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#17328581416791078-539: The Revenue Service brig Royal George , Captain Curry, chased a lugger that surrendered to Royal George . The lugger was Eglée , M. Olivier, of 16 guns (3 and 4-pounders), with a crew of 56 men. She was nine days out of Dunkirk and had taken one prize, Gabriel out of Yarmouth, which she had attempted to scuttle after taking the master and crew on board. Ringdove , one of Sappho's sister ships, found Gabriel , but she
1127-575: The US schooner Carolina chased a British 14-gun privateer for three hours when an 18-gun British brig, which the Carolina's captain believed to be Sappho , approached. The two British vessels then set off in pursuit of the American schooner, which, however, after a chase of just over two hours, outdistanced them. The next day Carolina encountered the same British brig again, and again was able to escape. On 17 July Sappho recaptured Eliza . Three days earlier,
1176-458: The buoyancy of her cargo. Rous and his prize crew were eventually rescued by another prize around 4 a.m. In 1814, Rous participated in the capture of Rovigno , the island of Lesina , and the fortresses of Cattaro and Ragusa . On 18 May 1814, he was promoted to lieutenant and, from August 1814 until December 1815, served aboard the frigate Maeander , Captain John Bastard , off Lisbon and in
1225-486: The capture at Giulianova of seven large gun-boats, three smaller gun-vessels, and 14 merchantmen. The British boats approached and boarded under a heavy fire of grapeshot and musketry, while the Marines landed on shore, driving off 100 enemy troops and capturing two field guns. Rous was put in command of one of the merchantmen, laden with oil, which broached and capsized in heavy weather around midnight, only kept afloat by
1274-456: The case of Provo Wallis who served (including time being carried on the books while still a child) for 96 years. When he died in 1892 four admirals under him could immediately be promoted. By request of Queen Victoria , John Edmund Commerell became Admiral of the Fleet rather than Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey , who as senior active admiral nearing the age limit would customarily have received
1323-621: The coast of Labrador in the Strait of Belle Isle in September 1835 and was greatly damaged. Rous, however, brought her across the Atlantic Ocean with a sprung foremast and without keel, forefoot or rudder, with the ship making 23 in (0.58 m) of water an hour. His father owned a stud farm in Suffolk and won the 1815 2,000 Guineas with the colt Tigris. Rous, always fond of the sport, became
1372-432: The crews. The Danish captain was the colourful and erratic adventurer Jørgen Jørgensen , who in 1801 had been a member of the crew, and perhaps second in command, of Lady Nelson . On Lady Nelson he participated in at least one voyage of exploration along the coast of Australia. In his autobiography he states that his father joined seven other merchants from Copenhagen jointly to purchase Admiral Yawl and present it to
1421-672: The discretion of the Board of Admiralty . As there were invariably more admirals in service than there were postings, many admirals remained unemployed, especially in peacetime. The organisation of the fleet into coloured squadrons was finally abandoned in 1864. The Red Ensign was allocated to the Merchant Navy , the White Ensign became the flag of the Royal Navy, and the Blue Ensign was allocated to
1470-508: The exchange of fire, Sappho had one man wounded and one man injured. Admiral Yawl had two dead: her second officer and a seaman. As a result of the action Langford received promotion to Post-captain , and in 1847 all then surviving officers and crew were qualified to receive the Naval General Service Medal with the clasp "Sappho 2 March 1808". Sappho carried sixteen 32-pounder carronades and two 6-pounder guns, manned by
1519-473: The flag of the United States. American gunboats under the command of Commodore Hugh Campbell, maintained control of the island in an attempt to secure East Florida to prevent a Spanish-English alliance in the area in advance of the war. In late 1812 Sappho took some nine prizes: Sappho also sent into Nassau Josefe , Veya, master. A Spanish vessel suspected of carrying American goods. On 20 June 1813,
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1568-521: The fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. The rank of admiral is currently the highest rank to which a serving officer in the Royal Navy can be promoted, admiral of the fleet being in abeyance except for honorary promotions of retired officers and members of the royal family. The equivalent rank in the British Army and Royal Marines is general ; and in the Royal Air Force , it
1617-530: The fleet grew large enough to be organised into squadrons . The squadron's admiral flew a red ensign , the vice admirals white , and the rear admirals blue on the aft mast of his ship. As the squadrons grew, each was eventually commanded by an admiral (with vice admirals and rear admirals commanding sections) and the official ranks became admiral of the white and so forth, however each admiral's command flags were different and changed over time. The Royal Navy has had vice and rear admirals regularly appointed to
1666-474: The forerunner to the present Lord High Admiral . (During this process, the short-lived post of Admiral of the Narrow Seas was used in 1412 and 1413. It was subsequently revived from 1523 to 1688.) The first royal commission as Admiral to a naval officer was granted in 1303 to Gervase Alard . By 1344, it was only used as a rank at sea for a captain in charge of one or more fleets. In Elizabethan times
1715-681: The formal title of Keeper of the Sea and the Sea Ports. On 8 March 1287, Sir William de Leybourne was specifically commissioned as the Admiral of the Seas of England ( Latin : Admirallus Maris Angliae ) and, in 1294, captain of all sailors and mariners of the king's dominions. Sir John de Botetourt served under him as warden at sea from the Thames to Scotland. This was part of an effort by Edward I to establish
1764-411: The naval reserve and naval auxiliary vessels. The 18th- and 19th-century Royal Navy also maintained a positional rank known as port admiral . A port admiral was typically a veteran captain who served as the shore commander of a British naval port and was in charge of supplying, refitting, and maintaining the ships docked at harbour. The problem of promoting strictly by seniority was well illustrated by
1813-430: The post since at least the 16th century. When in command of the fleet, the admiral would be in either the lead or the middle portion of the fleet. When the admiral commanded from the middle portion of the fleet his deputy, the vice admiral , would be in the leading portion or van . Below him was another admiral at the rear of the fleet, called rear admiral . Promotion up the ladder was in accordance with seniority in
1862-405: The promotion; John Baird became an Admiral; James Erskine a vice-admiral; and Harry Rawson a rear-admiral. Ironically, all these younger men would die at least a decade before de Horsey. In the time before squadron distinctions were removed or age limits instituted, the death of James Hawkins-Whitshed resulted in ten men moving up to higher ranks. In 1996, the rank of admiral of the fleet
1911-462: The rank of post-captain , and rank was held for life, so the only way to be promoted was for the person above on the list to die or resign. In 1747 the Admiralty restored an element of merit selection to this process by introducing the concept of yellow admirals (formally known as granting an officer the position of "Rear-Admiral without distinction of squadron"), being captains promoted to flag rank on
1960-456: The understanding that they would immediately retire on half-pay . This was the navy's first attempt at superannuating older officers. During the Interregnum , the rank of admiral was replaced by that of general at sea . In the 18th century, the original nine ranks began to be filled by more than one man per rank, although the rank of admiral of the red was always filled by only one man and
2009-607: Was Admiral of the White who then flew the Cross of St George . The next promotion step up from that was to Admiral of the Fleet. [REDACTED] Media related to Admirals of the United Kingdom at Wikimedia Commons HMS Sappho (1806) HMS Sappho was a Cruizer class brig-sloop built by Jabez Bailey at Ipswich and launched in 1806. She defeated the Danish brig Admiral Yawl in
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2058-569: Was 66 men, of whom 65 were on board, under the command of M. Fanqueux. She was only three months old, was 16 days out of Dunkirk, and had made no captures. Captain Farquar of Ariadne wrote the letters reporting the capture of Eglé and Trente et Quarante , and recommended that the Admiralty purchase the latter. Sappho was cruising in the North Sea and on the morning of 2 March she was sailing east off Scarborough, when she discovered an armed brig that
2107-476: Was Captain W. Canning. On 14 September Sappho arrived at Halifax in some distress. She had lost the head of her foremast and foretop-mast on 26 August on her passage to Bermuda from Portsmouth. Falling spars had killed one man and wounded four others. Then Sappho struck on the Sisters Rocks in coming into the harbour. The weather was moderate so she was soon off again. Although Sappho had been refloated,
2156-515: Was increased to four, reflecting the equivalence to the OF-9 four-star ranks of other countries. Prior to 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into coloured squadrons which determined his career path. The command flags flown by an Admiral changed a number of times during this period, there was no Admiral of the Red rank until that post was introduced in 1805 prior to this the highest rank an admiral could attain to
2205-546: Was known as Admiral of the Fleet . After the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 the rank of admiral of the red was introduced. The number of officers holding each rank steadily increased throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1769 there were 29 admirals of various grades; by the close of the Napoleonic Wars in 1816 there were 190 admirals in service. Thereafter the number of admirals was reduced and in 1853 there were 79 admirals. Although admirals were promoted according to strict seniority, appointments to command were made at
2254-624: Was named in his honour. In the general election of July 1841 , he was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Westminster and, in February 1846, The Sir Robert Peel appointed him Fourth Naval Lord , in which post he served only until July. The appointment triggered a by-election, which Rous lost to the Liberal candidate, George de Lacy Evans , whom he had defeated in 1841. Though no longer an active serving officer, Rous's seniority saw him promoted to rear admiral on 17 December 1852, to vice admiral on 5 January 1858, and to admiral on
2303-463: Was put in abeyance in peacetime, except for members of the Royal family but was resurrected on an honorary basis in 2014 for the appointment of Lord Boyce . Admirals of the fleet continue to hold their rank on the active list for life. The current ranks are rear admiral, vice admiral, admiral and admiral of the fleet, also known as flag ranks because admirals, known as flag officers , are entitled to fly
2352-419: Was sinking fast and could not be saved. The frigate Ariadne also joined the chase and later shared in the prize money. The same four British vessels shared in the capture of the privateer Trente et Quarante , of 16 guns and 62 men, though the actual captor was Ringdove . Trente et Quarante was a lugger letter of marque , carrying sixteen 6 and 9 pounder guns, of which 14 were mounted. Her complement
2401-553: Was steering a course as if intending to cut off several merchant vessels to leeward. Sappho gave chase and at about 1330 hours fired a shot over the brig, which was flying British colours. The brig then fired a broadside at Sappho and exchanged Danish colours for the British colours she been flying to evade scrutiny. Langford immediately bore down and brought what turned out to be Admiral Yawl (or Admiral Juul , or Admiral Yorol ) to close action. The engagement lasted about half an hour before Admiral Yawl struck her colours . In
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