Francis Hosier
Encyclopedia
Francis Hosier was a British Vice-Admiral. He was lieutenant in Rooke
's flagship at the Battle of Barfleur
in 1693. He captured the Heureux off Cape Clear
in 1710 and distinguished himself in action with the Spanish off Cartagena
in 1711. He is chiefly remembered however for his role in the failure of the Blockade of Porto Bello
, for which poor Government orders were largely responsible, during which he died of disease with thousands of his sailors.
who lived at the foot of Crooms Hill, Greenwich. A certain Francis Hosier was the Storekeeper at Deptford in 1684, earning a salary of £305, the highest paid at the Depot. He became a lieutenant in the navy in 1692 when he was appointed to the Winchelsea, a 32-gun new frigate, after being in that station on board different ships for four years.
Captain Francis Hosier was only 26 years old in 1699 when he arranged for the Greenwich residence today known as The Ranger's House to be built, by which time he had commanded only one ship, the Winchelsea, of 74 guns. In 1710 he was appointed captain of the Salisbury upon a cruise off Cape Clear when, by falling in with a 6-gun French ship he was able to capture the french vessel which was then re-named the Salisbury's Prize and taken into service.
In 1719 he was appointed second captain of the Dorsetshire, advanced to be rear-admiral of the white squadron, and afterwards promoted to be vice-admiral of the blue, but the fleet was ordered to be dismantled before it was put to the sea. In 1720 he was appointed second captain of the Dorsetshire with the honorary rank of rear-admiral of the blue squadron. After the War of the Spanish Succession
, he was suspended as a suspected Jacobite until 1717, but became vice-admiral in 1723.
, Secretary of State, consulted the former privateer Woodes Rogers
, who was in London at the time, as to the probable means and route the Spaniards would adopt to get their treasure home. From past experience Rogers probably knew more than any other person then in England of the favoured Spanish tactics for evading detection. A report dated 10th November 1726, was delivered, in conjunction with Capt. Jonathan Denniss,Probably the same Capt. Denniss who in 1718 conducted an expedition to Havana, the proceedings of which are in PRO CO 137,13; Denniss was also associated with Leonard Cocke, a factor of the South Sea Co. in Santiago de Cuba. (PRO SP36/25) to prepare Hosier for his task. At first Hosier met with success in his Blockade of Porto Bello
. However, under strict orders not to attempt a capture of the town, which he could without difficulty have achieved with his 20 ships, he was forced to loiter and cruise off a mosquito infested coast. Yellow fever
broke out and Hosier himself died of the fever (or as is said by some contemporary commentators "of a broken heart"), whilst on HMS Breda
off Vera Cruz, as did between 3,000 and 4,000 of his sailors. Hosier was blamed for the disaster. This episode is described as follows in Percy's Reliques
of 1765.
Hosier was replaced by two further admirals, who likewise successively perished of tropical diseases. Hosier's body was given a temporary burial-place in the ballast of his flagship, the Breda, where it remained, a source of danger to sanitation of all on board, until it was despatched to England, late in the year, on board the snow
H.M.S. Happy Return, under Commander Henry Fowkes. Presumably the body had first been embalmed. He was buried in the family vault, with much funerary pomp, at St Nicholas, Deptford
on 28 February 1728. In 1739, twelve years after Hosier's death, at the start of the War of Jenkins' Ear
Admiral Vernon accomplished what Hosier had failed to do, or been denied from doing, and captured Porto Bello with only six ships.
Vernon's success prompted the poet Richard Glover
in 1740 to write the ballad Admiral Hosier's Ghost, sung to the tune of Come and Listen to my Ditty. It is an apology
for the failure of Hosier's earlier mission, and seeks to absolve Hosier of having shown a lack of initiative, blaming rather Admiralty orders "not to fight", which were obeyed only "against his heart's warm motion", having been "sent in this foul clime to languish". The Ghosts of Hosier and 3,000 of his sailors appear from the sea to Vernon shortly after his victory and Hosier charges him to "let Hosier's wrongs prevail" by drawing notice to the forgotten affair in Opposition circles in England. Only then will the ghosts find their rest. It is thus an attack on Walpole's half-hearted commitment to the war.The ballad consists of 11 verses which are here quoted for illumination:
As near Porto-Bello lying
On the gently swelling flood,
At midnight with streamers flying
Our triumphant navy rode;
There while Vernon sate all-glorious
From the Spaniards' late defeat;
And his crews, with shouts victorious,
Drank success to England's fleet,
George Rooke
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke was an English naval commander. He is known for his service in the wars against France and particularly remembered today for his victory at Vigo Bay and for capturing Gibraltar for the British in 1704.-Early life:Rooke was born at St Lawrence, near Canterbury...
's flagship at the Battle of Barfleur
Battle of Barfleur
This article deals in detail with the action on 19 May 1692. For an overview of the battle, its background and aftermath, see Battles of Barfleur and La Hogue...
in 1693. He captured the Heureux off Cape Clear
Cape Clear
Cape Clear may refer to:* Cape Clear * Cape Clear Island, on the southern coast of Ireland.* Cape Clear, Victoria, a town in Australia...
in 1710 and distinguished himself in action with the Spanish off Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...
in 1711. He is chiefly remembered however for his role in the failure of the Blockade of Porto Bello
Blockade of Porto Bello
The Blockade of Porto Bello was a failed British naval action against the Spanish port of Porto Bello in present day Panama between 1726 and 1727 as part of the Anglo-Spanish War. The British were attempting to blockade the port to stop valuable treasure convoys leaving for Spain...
, for which poor Government orders were largely responsible, during which he died of disease with thousands of his sailors.
Career
Hosier was the son of the Clerk of the Cheque (and Muster-Master) to Samuel PepysSamuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
who lived at the foot of Crooms Hill, Greenwich. A certain Francis Hosier was the Storekeeper at Deptford in 1684, earning a salary of £305, the highest paid at the Depot. He became a lieutenant in the navy in 1692 when he was appointed to the Winchelsea, a 32-gun new frigate, after being in that station on board different ships for four years.
Captain Francis Hosier was only 26 years old in 1699 when he arranged for the Greenwich residence today known as The Ranger's House to be built, by which time he had commanded only one ship, the Winchelsea, of 74 guns. In 1710 he was appointed captain of the Salisbury upon a cruise off Cape Clear when, by falling in with a 6-gun French ship he was able to capture the french vessel which was then re-named the Salisbury's Prize and taken into service.
In 1719 he was appointed second captain of the Dorsetshire, advanced to be rear-admiral of the white squadron, and afterwards promoted to be vice-admiral of the blue, but the fleet was ordered to be dismantled before it was put to the sea. In 1720 he was appointed second captain of the Dorsetshire with the honorary rank of rear-admiral of the blue squadron. After the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, he was suspended as a suspected Jacobite until 1717, but became vice-admiral in 1723.
Blockade of Porto Bello
In March 1726 Hosier was sent to command a squadron in the West Indies to prevent Spain from shipping its treasures home. Viscount TownshendCharles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend
Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend Bt, KG, PC was a British Whig statesman. He served for a decade as Secretary of State, directing British foreign policy...
, Secretary of State, consulted the former privateer Woodes Rogers
Woodes Rogers
Woodes Rogers was an English sea captain, privateer, and, later, the first Royal Governor of the Bahamas. He is known as the captain of the vessel that rescued the marooned Alexander Selkirk, whose plight is generally believed to have inspired Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.Rogers came from an...
, who was in London at the time, as to the probable means and route the Spaniards would adopt to get their treasure home. From past experience Rogers probably knew more than any other person then in England of the favoured Spanish tactics for evading detection. A report dated 10th November 1726, was delivered, in conjunction with Capt. Jonathan Denniss,Probably the same Capt. Denniss who in 1718 conducted an expedition to Havana, the proceedings of which are in PRO CO 137,13; Denniss was also associated with Leonard Cocke, a factor of the South Sea Co. in Santiago de Cuba. (PRO SP36/25) to prepare Hosier for his task. At first Hosier met with success in his Blockade of Porto Bello
Blockade of Porto Bello
The Blockade of Porto Bello was a failed British naval action against the Spanish port of Porto Bello in present day Panama between 1726 and 1727 as part of the Anglo-Spanish War. The British were attempting to blockade the port to stop valuable treasure convoys leaving for Spain...
. However, under strict orders not to attempt a capture of the town, which he could without difficulty have achieved with his 20 ships, he was forced to loiter and cruise off a mosquito infested coast. Yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
broke out and Hosier himself died of the fever (or as is said by some contemporary commentators "of a broken heart"), whilst on HMS Breda
HMS Breda (1692)
HMS Breda was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Woolwich Dockyard on 23 April 1692. She was named after the Declaration of Breda made in 1660 by Charles II of England....
off Vera Cruz, as did between 3,000 and 4,000 of his sailors. Hosier was blamed for the disaster. This episode is described as follows in Percy's Reliques
Reliques of Ancient English Poetry
The Reliques of Ancient English Poetry is a collection of ballads and popular songs collected by Thomas Percy and published in 1765.-Sources:...
of 1765.
He (Hosier) accordingly arrived at the BastimentosBastimentosBastimentos Island is an island with eponymous town, and corregimiento located in the Bocas del Toro District and archipelage of Bocas del Toro Province, Panama...
near Porto Bello, but being employed rather to overawe than to attack the Spaniards, with whom it was probably not our interest to go to war, he continued long inactive on that station, to his own great regret. He afterwards removed to Carthagena, and remained cruising in these seas, till far the greater part of his men perished deplorably by the diseases of that unhealthy climate. This brave man, seeing his best officers and men thus daily swept away, his ships exposed to inevitable destruction, and himself made the sport of the enemy, is said to have died of a broken heart. Such is the account of SmollettTobias SmollettTobias George Smollett was a Scottish poet and author. He was best known for his picaresque novels, such as The Adventures of Roderick Random and The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle , which influenced later novelists such as Charles Dickens.-Life:Smollett was born at Dalquhurn, now part of Renton,...
, compared with that of other less party writers.
Hosier was replaced by two further admirals, who likewise successively perished of tropical diseases. Hosier's body was given a temporary burial-place in the ballast of his flagship, the Breda, where it remained, a source of danger to sanitation of all on board, until it was despatched to England, late in the year, on board the snow
Snow (ship)
A snow or snaw is a sailing vessel. A type of brig , snows were primarily used as merchant ships, but saw war service as well...
H.M.S. Happy Return, under Commander Henry Fowkes. Presumably the body had first been embalmed. He was buried in the family vault, with much funerary pomp, at St Nicholas, Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
on 28 February 1728. In 1739, twelve years after Hosier's death, at the start of the War of Jenkins' Ear
War of Jenkins' Ear
The War of Jenkins' Ear was a conflict between Great Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748, with major operations largely ended by 1742. Its unusual name, coined by Thomas Carlyle in 1858, relates to Robert Jenkins, captain of a British merchant ship, who exhibited his severed ear in...
Admiral Vernon accomplished what Hosier had failed to do, or been denied from doing, and captured Porto Bello with only six ships.
Admiral Hosier's Ghost
(See full text on Wikisource s:Admiral Hosier's GhostVernon's success prompted the poet Richard Glover
Richard Glover (Poet)
Richard Glover was an English poet and politician.-Life:The son of Richard Glover, a Hamburg merchant, was born in London. He was educated at Cheam in Surrey....
in 1740 to write the ballad Admiral Hosier's Ghost, sung to the tune of Come and Listen to my Ditty. It is an apology
Apologetics
Apologetics is the discipline of defending a position through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers...
for the failure of Hosier's earlier mission, and seeks to absolve Hosier of having shown a lack of initiative, blaming rather Admiralty orders "not to fight", which were obeyed only "against his heart's warm motion", having been "sent in this foul clime to languish". The Ghosts of Hosier and 3,000 of his sailors appear from the sea to Vernon shortly after his victory and Hosier charges him to "let Hosier's wrongs prevail" by drawing notice to the forgotten affair in Opposition circles in England. Only then will the ghosts find their rest. It is thus an attack on Walpole's half-hearted commitment to the war.The ballad consists of 11 verses which are here quoted for illumination:
As near Porto-Bello lying
On the gently swelling flood,
At midnight with streamers flying
Our triumphant navy rode;
There while Vernon sate all-glorious
From the Spaniards' late defeat;
And his crews, with shouts victorious,
Drank success to England's fleet,