Humphrey Fleming Senhouse
Encyclopedia
Captain
Sir Humphrey Fleming Senhouse, KCH
, CB
(1781 – 13 June 1841), was a British officer in the Royal Navy
. He served in the Napoleonic Wars
, War of 1812
, and First Anglo-Chinese War
.
, and Surveyor-General of Barbados and the British Windward Islands
. His mother was daughter of Samson Wood, the speaker of the Barbados Assembly. His grandfather, Humphrey Senhouse of Netherhall, Cumberland
, married Mary, daughter and co-heiress of Sir George Fleming, bishop of Carlisle
.
Senhouse joined the navy in January 1797 on board HMS Prince of Wales
, the flagship
of Rear-Admiral Henry Harvey
in the West Indies Station. In November 1797, he moved to the brig
Requin, in which he arrived in England for the first time in 1799. From March 1800 to April 1802, he served in HMS Fisgard under Captains Thomas Byam Martin
and Michael Seymour
.
. With Israel Pellew
, who relieved Louis in April 1804, Senhouse served in the Mediterranean
, West Indies, and in the Battle of Trafalgar
, until January 1806. He again went to the West Indies on board , and was put on board the flagship of under Sir Alexander Cochrane
. In September 1806, he was appointed to command on the Spanish Main
and Leeward Islands
until March 1808, when he joined as a flag-lieutenant to Cochrane, who sent him home with despatches in July 1808.
On 26 January 1809, Senhouse rejoined Cochrane, now in command of . After assisting in the debarkation of troops in the invasion of Martinique
, he was promoted to Commander on 2 June 1809. He was promoted to on 7 March, which he commanded in the West Indies until December. There, he also commanded and . In 1810, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Vice-Admiral John Manley. They had two children.
, Newfoundland
, and the Halifax Station. In 1812–14, he commanded the 18-gun sloop
on the Halifax Station. In the War of 1812
against the United States, he defended the Martin, aground in Delaware Bay
, against a flotilla
of eight gunboat
s and two blockship
s on 29 July 1813. He made prize of the 6-gun privateer
Snap Dragon containing 80 men, assisted in the capture of Moose Island
, and was sent home with despatches by Cochrane, announcing the success of the expedition in Castine, Maine
. He was promoted to Post-Captain
on 12 October 1814, and from April to September 1815, commanded on the coast of France as flag-captain to Sir Henry Hotham
. From 25 February 1831 to 1834, he served in , most of the time as flag-captain to Vice-Admiral Hotham, commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Station. King William IV
told Hotham at Windsor:
Senhouse was nominated a Knight Commander of the Hanoverian Guelphic Order on 13 April 1832, and knighted on 5 June 1834.
, where he served in the First Anglo-Chinese War
. Commodore James Bremer
, commander-in-chief of the British forces, entrusted the attack on Anunghoy Island to Senhouse in the Battle of the Bogue
on 26 February 1841. After the Blenheim fired broadside
s from starboard at the island's fort, Senhouse landed with about 300 marines and seamen to clear the few remaining defenders.
On 13 June 1841, Senhouse died on board the Blenheim in Hong Kong from fever contracted during the operations in Canton
in May 1841. Captain Thomas Herbert
took over command of the ship. Senhouse is buried at the Old Protestant Cemetery in Macau
. Duncan MacPherson of the Madras Army
wrote, "On the morning of the 13th of June, when it was announced to him that all hopes of saving his life was at an end, he immediately directed that the signal be made for all captains of H.M.'s ships to repair on board; but ere the first had arrived, our gallant commodore was a corpse." On 29 June, Senhouse was nominated a Companion of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath
.
Captain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
Sir Humphrey Fleming Senhouse, KCH
Royal Guelphic Order
The Royal Guelphic Order, sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent . It has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of King William IV in 1837, when the personal union of the...
, CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(1781 – 13 June 1841), was a British officer in the Royal Navy
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...
. He served in 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...
, War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, and First Anglo-Chinese War
First Opium War
The First Anglo-Chinese War , known popularly as the First Opium War or simply the Opium War, was fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty of China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice...
.
Early life
Senhouse was the third son of William Senhouse (1741–1800) and his wife Elizabeth. His father was a Lieutenant in the Royal NavyRoyal 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...
, and Surveyor-General of Barbados and the British Windward Islands
British Windward Islands
The British Windward Islands was a British colony existing between 1833 and 1960 and consisting of the islands of Grenada, St Lucia, Saint Vincent, the Grenadines, Barbados , Tobago , and Dominica, previously included in the...
. His mother was daughter of Samson Wood, the speaker of the Barbados Assembly. His grandfather, Humphrey Senhouse of Netherhall, Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, married Mary, daughter and co-heiress of Sir George Fleming, bishop of Carlisle
Bishop of Carlisle
The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York.The diocese covers the County of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District...
.
Senhouse joined the navy in January 1797 on board HMS Prince of Wales
HMS Prince of Wales (1794)
HMS Prince of Wales was a 98-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 June 1794 at Portsmouth.She was present at the Battle of Groix in 1795, and served as the flagship of Admiral Robert Calder at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805. Prince of Wales was not present at...
, 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...
of Rear-Admiral Henry Harvey
Henry Harvey
Admiral Sir Henry Harvey, KB was a long-serving officer of the British Royal Navy during the second half of the eighteenth century. Harvey participated in numerous naval operations and actions and especially distinguished himself at the Glorious First of June in command of...
in the West Indies Station. In November 1797, he moved to the brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
Requin, in which he arrived in England for the first time in 1799. From March 1800 to April 1802, he served in HMS Fisgard under Captains Thomas Byam Martin
Thomas Byam Martin
Admiral Sir Thomas Byam Martin, GCB was a highly influential British Royal Navy officer who served at sea during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and then as a naval administrator until his death in 1854...
and Michael Seymour
Sir Michael Seymour, 1st Baronet
Sir Michael Seymour, 1st Baronet KCB was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Rear-Admiral.-Family and early life:...
.
1802–1810
On 7 April 1802, Senhouse passed his examination, and was promoted as Lieutenant of two days later. In May 1803, he was appointed to with Captain Thomas LouisThomas Louis
Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Louis, 1st Baronet was an officer of the British Royal Navy who served in three wars and saw numerous actions, notably as one of Horatio Nelson's "Band of Brothers" in the Mediterranean in 1798 who commanded ships at the Battle of the Nile...
. With Israel Pellew
Israel Pellew
Admiral Sir Israel Pellew, KCB, RN , was an English naval officer who spent his career under the shadow of his more successful older brother Edward Pellew.-Early naval service:...
, who relieved Louis in April 1804, Senhouse served in the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Fleet
Several countries have or have had a Mediterranean Fleet in their navy. See:* Mediterranean Fleet * French Mediterranean Fleet* Mediterranean Squadron * United States Sixth Fleet...
, West Indies, and in the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
, until January 1806. He again went to the West Indies on board , and was put on board the flagship of under Sir Alexander Cochrane
Alexander Cochrane
Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
. In September 1806, he was appointed to command on the Spanish Main
Spanish Main
In the days of the Spanish New World Empire, the mainland of the American continent enclosing the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico was referred to as the Spanish Main. It included present-day Florida, the east shore of the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Mexico, Central America and the north coast of...
and Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
until March 1808, when he joined as a flag-lieutenant to Cochrane, who sent him home with despatches in July 1808.
On 26 January 1809, Senhouse rejoined Cochrane, now in command of . After assisting in the debarkation of troops in the invasion of Martinique
Invasion of Martinique (1809)
The invasion of Martinique of 1809 was a successful British amphibious operation against the French West Indian island of Martinique that took place between 30 January and 24 February 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars...
, he was promoted to Commander on 2 June 1809. He was promoted to on 7 March, which he commanded in the West Indies until December. There, he also commanded and . In 1810, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Vice-Admiral John Manley. They had two children.
1810–1839
In 1810–12, Senhouse commanded at GibraltarGibraltar
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...
, Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, and the Halifax Station. In 1812–14, he commanded the 18-gun sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
on the Halifax Station. In the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
against the United States, he defended the Martin, aground in Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
, against a flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
of eight gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
s and two blockship
Blockship
A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used.It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of HMS Hood at Portland Harbour; or it may be brought by enemy raiders and used to...
s on 29 July 1813. He made prize of the 6-gun privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
Snap Dragon containing 80 men, assisted in the capture of Moose Island
Moose Island
Moose Island is an island in Maine located at the entrance to Cobscook Bay from Passamaquoddy Bay in the Bay of Fundy.Connected to the mainland portion of Washington County at Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation by a causeway, the city of Eastport occupies several islands, including its major...
, and was sent home with despatches by Cochrane, announcing the success of the expedition in Castine, Maine
Castine, Maine
Castine is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States and was once the capital of Acadia . The population was 1,343 at the 2000 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institution that graduates officers and engineers for the United States Merchant Marine and marine...
. He was promoted to Post-Captain
Post-Captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy.The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:...
on 12 October 1814, and from April to September 1815, commanded on the coast of France as flag-captain to Sir Henry Hotham
Henry Hotham
Vice Admiral Sir Henry Hotham KCB was a Royal Navy hero who saw a great deal of service during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
. From 25 February 1831 to 1834, he served in , most of the time as flag-captain to Vice-Admiral Hotham, commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Station. King William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
told Hotham at Windsor:
Sir Henry, you are most fortunate in having one of the cleverest fellows of the navy for your Captain. [...] Yes, I am sure I need not tell you so; he must be not only a clever man, but most zealous in his profession; few like him would have employed the leisure the peace has given him in gaining the information he has; there was not a question I asked him that he could not give me a ready and satisfactory reply. [...] You are lucky in having him.
Senhouse was nominated a Knight Commander of the Hanoverian Guelphic Order on 13 April 1832, and knighted on 5 June 1834.
1839–1841
On 9 April 1839, Senhouse commissioned . He was sent from England to fill the office of second-in-command of the British naval forces in ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, where he served in the First Anglo-Chinese War
First Opium War
The First Anglo-Chinese War , known popularly as the First Opium War or simply the Opium War, was fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty of China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice...
. Commodore James Bremer
James Bremer
Sir James John Gordon Bremer, KCB, KCH , was a British Royal Navy officer. He served in the Napoleonic Wars, First Anglo-Burmese War, and First Anglo-Chinese War. In China, he served twice as commander-in-chief of British forces.Born in Portsea, England, Bremer joined the Royal Navy in 1794...
, commander-in-chief of the British forces, entrusted the attack on Anunghoy Island to Senhouse in the Battle of the Bogue
Battle of the Bogue
The Battle of the Bogue was fought between British and Chinese forces at the Bocca Tigris, China, on 23–26 February 1841 during the First Opium War...
on 26 February 1841. After the Blenheim fired broadside
Broadside
A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...
s from starboard at the island's fort, Senhouse landed with about 300 marines and seamen to clear the few remaining defenders.
On 13 June 1841, Senhouse died on board the Blenheim in Hong Kong from fever contracted during the operations in Canton
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
in May 1841. Captain Thomas Herbert
Thomas Herbert (1793–1861)
Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Herbert, KCB , was British officer in the Royal Navy. He served in the Napoleonic Wars, War of 1812, and First Anglo-Chinese War...
took over command of the ship. Senhouse is buried at the Old Protestant Cemetery in Macau
Old Protestant Cemetery in Macau
The Old Protestant Cemetery , located close to the Casa Garden, was established by the British East India Company in 1821 in Macau in response to a lack of burial sites for Protestants in the Roman Catholic Portuguese colony....
. Duncan MacPherson of the Madras Army
Madras Army
The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of the British India within the British Empire.The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferred all three...
wrote, "On the morning of the 13th of June, when it was announced to him that all hopes of saving his life was at an end, he immediately directed that the signal be made for all captains of H.M.'s ships to repair on board; but ere the first had arrived, our gallant commodore was a corpse." On 29 June, Senhouse was nominated a Companion of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
.