Salusbury Pryce Humphreys
Encyclopedia
Sir Salusbury Pryce Humphreys, CB
, KCH
(24 November 1778 – 17 November 1845) was an officer of the Royal Navy
who saw service during the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
and the War of 1812
, rising to the rank of rear-admiral
.
He entered the navy during the Spanish armament in 1790 and served aboard a number of ships, starting at the level of able seaman
and rising through the ranks, having reached midshipman
on the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. A lieutenancy followed while serving in the Caribbean, where he acted in support of army operations against enemy colonies and islands, before his return to Britain. He was afterwards employed in the English Channel
and North Sea
, where he distinguished himself on a cutting out expedition off the Dutch island of Schiermonnikoog
, narrowly escaping death when a ship he tried and failed to board suddenly exploded. After again supporting land operations, this time in Holland, he was promoted to commander though he had to then wait two years for a command.
Promotion to post captain soon followed, and he went to North America to command the flagship of the admiral in command there. Desertion from Royal Navy ships had become a pressing issue and Humphreys, by then in command of the 50-gun , was ordered to intercept the , which was suspected to have several deserters as part of her crew. Humphreys did so, and requested permission to search her. Chesapeakes captain refused, so Humphreys fired upon her, the poorly prepared American ship surrendered and Humphreys took off several British deserters. The backlash from the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair, as it became known as, was severe. A political crisis was precipitated between the governments of Britain and the United States, and to mollify the Americans, Humphreys was given no further commands. He was already wealthy, having married an heiress, and settling at the estates of Bramall Hall
. He was promoted to rear-admiral, and then restored on the active lists, having changed his surname to Davenport in 1838 on the occasion of his wife's inheritance. He died in 1845.
, on 24 November 1778, the third son of Reverend Evan Humphreys and his wife Mary. He entered the navy on 1 July 1790, during the Spanish armament, serving as a volunteer aboard the 64-gun , which was then under the command of Captain James Vashon
. He was next aboard the 50-gun , the flagship
of Rear-Admiral Sir John Laforey
in the Leeward Islands
, followed by a posting to the 32-gun , commanded by Captain Matthew Squire. He was rated as able seaman
during this last posting, after which he was moved to the 14-gun , commanded by Captain Francis Laforey
. His next ship was the 50-gun , under Captain Paul Minchin, where he was rated as midshipman
some time before the outbreak of war
with Revolutionary France in February 1793. Severn conveyed the Governor General of Canada
, Lord Dorchester
, and his family and suite, to Quebec
, returning to Britain in 1794. Humphreys followed Minchin to his next command, the 38-gun , and went out to the West Indies. While serving there, Humphreys was ordered to act as lieutenant of the 14-gun under Captain Henry Evans in April 1796.
Humphreys was next in action supporting the army under Sir Ralph Abercromby
at the siege of Saint Lucia
, and afterwards convoyed the despatch
es concerning the attack on Porto Rico
back to Britain. His promotion to lieutenant came on 17 January 1797, together with an appointment to the armed ship Sally, serving in the North Sea
under Captain George Wolfe. In 1798 he received a posting to the 32-gun , also in the North Sea, under the command of Captain George Dundas.
of off the island of Schiermonnikoog
. In an action on 11 August British boats succeeded in attacking and capturing the gunboat Crash
, and preparing an operation to capture a large Dutch schooner
, named Vengeance, anchored under the protection of a battery
on the island, Mackenzie sent Humphreys and another lieutenant to capture some schuyts on 12 August. They captured two, burning one and sailing the other back to the British flotilla. Mackenzie armed the captured schuyt with 12-pdr carronade
s and named her Undaunted, placing Humphreys in command. Mackenzie launched his attack on the Dutch schooner and battery the following day, 13 August. Crash was supposed to have covered Humphreys in Undaunted, but she ran aground. Undaunted, Humphreys pushed on, coming alongside the Dutch schooner just as she was abandoned by her crew. The strong tide meant that he could not maintain his station alongside the Dutch vessel, and the roundness of her sides prevented him from leaping aboard. Instead he took a rope and jumped into the sea, hoping to be able to swim to the ship, board her and attach a rope. Once in the water he found that he could make little headway against the tide, and had to be hauled back on board. He had just regained the deck of Undaunted when Vengeance exploded, her crew having set a fuse to the ship's magazine
before they abandoned her. Meanwhile the rest of the flotilla successfully stormed the Dutch battery and spiked its guns. None of the attacking force was killed or wounded in the operation.
After the Anglo-Russian landings in Holland
in August 1799 Humphreys left Juno and moved to the 50-gun , which was then the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Mitchell
with the Channel Fleet
. He followed Mitchell to , serving on the Zuiderzee during the operations in Holland, and was then aboard , assigned to a squadron under Captain Henry Inman
of , which carried out an attack on 7 July 1800
against four French frigates anchored at Dunkirk. Humphreys moved again with Mitchell to the 90-gun in 1800, and while serving aboard her, received a promotion to commander, on 29 April 1802.
at Portsmouth
in January 1804. His time in command was short, as on 8 May he was promoted to post captain. He married Jane Elizabeth Morin in March 1805, the couple having one son together. Humphreys went out to Halifax
the following year to take command of the 50-gun , the flagship of the station commander Vice-Admiral George Berkeley
. He assumed command on his arrival in May, but it was then decided to send Leander back to Britain, and Humphreys was instead transferred to the 50-gun in October. Berkeley preferred to live onshore, meaning that for much of the time Leopard acted as a private ship
.
The Royal Navy had been having significant problems with men deserting their ships whilst in American ports, and then joining ships of the US Navy. Berkeley had been made aware of deserters from several ships who had joined the crew of the heavy frigate , and on 1 June 1807 he issued an order that Chesapeake be stopped at sea and searched for deserters. Apprehending them in town proved impossible as the men were under the protection of the magistrates. Berkeley directed that in return, the American captain was permitted to search British vessels for American deserters. Sent to enforce Berkeley's order, Humphreys located Chesapeake off Norfolk, Virginia
on 22 June and sent a lieutenant across to request permission to search her. Chesapeakes commander, Commodore James Barron
, refused to allow this and ordered his men to prepare for an action. Faced with Barron's refusal, Humphreys bore up and opened fire on her, hitting her with several broadsides. The unprepared Chesapeake fired a single shot in reply, and then struck her colours
. Humphreys sent a party across to search the ship, and found four deserters, Daniel Martin, John Strachan, and William Ware, run from ; and Jenkin Ratford, run from . They were taken aboard Leopard, which then departed, Humphreys having refused to accept Barron's offer to consider Chesapeake a prize. Chesapeake had three men killed, eight men badly wounded, and ten slightly wounded.
Though his conduct was approved of by Berkeley, it caused outrage amongst the Americans and became a major political incident. Anxious to appease the Americans, an Order in Council was issued, banning the use of force against foreign warships, Berkeley was recalled and Humphreys too found himself a victim of political movements. He returned to Britain in 1808 and was not offered any further commands.
for Buckingham
, Chester
and Lancaster
. His wife Jane died in September 1808, and Humphreys remarried on 31 May 1810, to Maria Davenport, of Bramall Hall
. The couple had five sons and two daughters together.
After the wars had ended he was put on the list of superannuated captains, but achieved some recompense when he was made a Companion of the Bath
on 26 September 1831. He received a further honour when he was nominated a Knight Commander of the Guelphic Order of Hanover
in February 1834, and was promoted to rear-admiral on 10 January 1837. He assumed the surname of Davenport when his wife inherited the Davenport estates at Bramall in 1838, and was restored to the active list on 17 August 1840. He settled at Bramall and had become widely respected in the Stockport
area prior to his wife's inheritance, but following his succession to the estate there were disputes from other members of the Davenport family who claimed a right to the property. He moved with Maria to Cheltenham
in 1841, most likely because living at Bramall had become expensive or because of health concerns. He died there on 17 November 1845 at the age of sixty-six and was buried in Leckhampton
.
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...
, 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...
(24 November 1778 – 17 November 1845) was an officer of 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...
who saw service during the French Revolutionary
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 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...
and 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...
, rising to the rank of rear-admiral
Rear Admiral (Royal Navy)
Rear Admiral is a flag officer rank of the British Royal Navy. It is immediately superior to Commodore and is subordinate to Vice Admiral. It is a two-star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7....
.
He entered the navy during the Spanish armament in 1790 and served aboard a number of ships, starting at the level of able seaman
Able seaman
An able seaman is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles.-Watchstander:...
and rising through the ranks, having reached 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...
on the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. A lieutenancy followed while serving in the Caribbean, where he acted in support of army operations against enemy colonies and islands, before his return to Britain. He was afterwards employed in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
and North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, where he distinguished himself on a cutting out expedition off the Dutch island of Schiermonnikoog
Schiermonnikoog
Schiermonnikoog is an island, a municipality, and a national park in the northern Netherlands. Schiermonnikoog is one of the West Frisian Islands, and is part of the province of Friesland....
, narrowly escaping death when a ship he tried and failed to board suddenly exploded. After again supporting land operations, this time in Holland, he was promoted to commander though he had to then wait two years for a command.
Promotion to post captain soon followed, and he went to North America to command the flagship of the admiral in command there. Desertion from Royal Navy ships had become a pressing issue and Humphreys, by then in command of the 50-gun , was ordered to intercept the , which was suspected to have several deserters as part of her crew. Humphreys did so, and requested permission to search her. Chesapeakes captain refused, so Humphreys fired upon her, the poorly prepared American ship surrendered and Humphreys took off several British deserters. The backlash from the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair, as it became known as, was severe. A political crisis was precipitated between the governments of Britain and the United States, and to mollify the Americans, Humphreys was given no further commands. He was already wealthy, having married an heiress, and settling at the estates of Bramall Hall
Bramall Hall
Bramall Hall is a Tudor manor house in Bramhall, within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is a timber-framed building, the oldest parts of which date from the 14th century, with later additions from the 16th and 19th centuries...
. He was promoted to rear-admiral, and then restored on the active lists, having changed his surname to Davenport in 1838 on the occasion of his wife's inheritance. He died in 1845.
Family and early life
Salusbury Pryce Humphreys was born at Clungunford RectoryClungunford
Clungunford is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England, located near the border with Herefordshire.The name comes from the fact that this part of the Clun area was owned by the Saxon Lord Gunward and so was called "Clun Gunward". The River Clun here was forded and the name became...
, on 24 November 1778, the third son of Reverend Evan Humphreys and his wife Mary. He entered the navy on 1 July 1790, during the Spanish armament, serving as a volunteer aboard the 64-gun , which was then under the command of Captain James Vashon
James Vashon
Sir James Vashon was a British officer of the Royal Navy. He saw service during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was first captain of HMS Dreadnought, between 1801 and 1802...
. He was next aboard the 50-gun , 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 Sir John Laforey
John Laforey
Sir John Laforey, 1st Baronet was a senior and controversial British naval officer of the 18th century whose extensive career was spent mainly on the North American and West Indian stations...
in the 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...
, followed by a posting to the 32-gun , commanded by Captain Matthew Squire. He was rated as able seaman
Able seaman
An able seaman is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles.-Watchstander:...
during this last posting, after which he was moved to the 14-gun , commanded by Captain Francis Laforey
Francis Laforey
Admiral Sir Francis Laforey, 2nd Baronet, KCB was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, whose distinguished service record included numerous frigate commands in Home waters and in the West Indies...
. His next ship was the 50-gun , under Captain Paul Minchin, where he was rated as 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...
some time before the outbreak of war
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...
with Revolutionary France in February 1793. Severn conveyed the Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
, Lord Dorchester
Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester
Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, KB , known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Irish-British soldier and administrator...
, and his family and suite, to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, returning to Britain in 1794. Humphreys followed Minchin to his next command, the 38-gun , and went out to the West Indies. While serving there, Humphreys was ordered to act as lieutenant of the 14-gun under Captain Henry Evans in April 1796.
Humphreys was next in action supporting the army under Sir Ralph Abercromby
Ralph Abercromby
Sir Ralph Abercromby was a Scottish soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was noted for his services during the Napoleonic Wars, and served as Commander-in-Chief, Ireland.He twice served as MP for Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire, and was...
at the siege of Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...
, and afterwards convoyed the despatch
Despatch
-Business:*despatch, the reverse of demurrage, paid under a voyage charter when a ship is loaded or unloaded in less time than allowed in the charter party...
es concerning the attack on Porto Rico
Battle of San Juan (1797)
The Battle of San Juan was a 1797 British attack on the Spanish colonial port city of San Juan in Puerto Rico. The attack was carried out facing the historic town of Miramar....
back to Britain. His promotion to lieutenant came on 17 January 1797, together with an appointment to the armed ship Sally, serving in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
under Captain George Wolfe. In 1798 he received a posting to the 32-gun , also in the North Sea, under the command of Captain George Dundas.
Cutting out expedition
In August 1798 Humphreys was sent with some of Junos men to support a cutting out expedition led by Captain Adam MackenzieAdam Mackenzie
Adam Mackenzie was an officer of the Royal Navy. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 13 March 1790, to Commander on 22 June 1796, and to Captain on 2 September 1799. He died on 13 November 1823.-HMS Pylades:...
of off the island of Schiermonnikoog
Schiermonnikoog
Schiermonnikoog is an island, a municipality, and a national park in the northern Netherlands. Schiermonnikoog is one of the West Frisian Islands, and is part of the province of Friesland....
. In an action on 11 August British boats succeeded in attacking and capturing the gunboat Crash
HMS Crash (1797)
HMS Crash was a 12-gun . She was launched in April 1797 as GB No. 15 and received the name Crash in August. She served against the French and Dutch in the Napoleonic Wars, though after her capture in 1798 she spent a year in the service of the Batavian republic before the British recaptured her...
, and preparing an operation to capture a large Dutch schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
, named Vengeance, anchored under the protection of a battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
on the island, Mackenzie sent Humphreys and another lieutenant to capture some schuyts on 12 August. They captured two, burning one and sailing the other back to the British flotilla. Mackenzie armed the captured schuyt with 12-pdr carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
s and named her Undaunted, placing Humphreys in command. Mackenzie launched his attack on the Dutch schooner and battery the following day, 13 August. Crash was supposed to have covered Humphreys in Undaunted, but she ran aground. Undaunted, Humphreys pushed on, coming alongside the Dutch schooner just as she was abandoned by her crew. The strong tide meant that he could not maintain his station alongside the Dutch vessel, and the roundness of her sides prevented him from leaping aboard. Instead he took a rope and jumped into the sea, hoping to be able to swim to the ship, board her and attach a rope. Once in the water he found that he could make little headway against the tide, and had to be hauled back on board. He had just regained the deck of Undaunted when Vengeance exploded, her crew having set a fuse to the ship's magazine
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
before they abandoned her. Meanwhile the rest of the flotilla successfully stormed the Dutch battery and spiked its guns. None of the attacking force was killed or wounded in the operation.
After the Anglo-Russian landings in Holland
Anglo-Russian Invasion of Holland
The Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland refers to the campaign of 27 August to 19 November 1799 during the War of the Second Coalition, in which an expeditionary force of British and Russian troops invaded the North-Holland peninsula in the Batavian Republic...
in August 1799 Humphreys left Juno and moved to the 50-gun , which was then the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Mitchell
Andrew Mitchell (Royal Navy officer)
Sir Andrew Mitchell KB was an Admiral of the Blue in the Royal Navy. Married to Mary Uniacke in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 3 May 1805.-Career:...
with the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
. He followed Mitchell to , serving on the Zuiderzee during the operations in Holland, and was then aboard , assigned to a squadron under Captain Henry Inman
Henry Inman (Royal Navy officer)
Captain Henry Inman was a British Royal Navy officer during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, serving in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...
of , which carried out an attack on 7 July 1800
Raid on Dunkirk (1800)
The Raid on Dunkirk of 7 July 1800 was an attack by a British Royal Navy force on the well defended French anchorage of Dunkirk in the English Channel during the French Revolutionary Wars...
against four French frigates anchored at Dunkirk. Humphreys moved again with Mitchell to the 90-gun in 1800, and while serving aboard her, received a promotion to commander, on 29 April 1802.
Command
Despite his promotion, Humphreys had to wait nearly two years before receiving his own command, until finally appointed to the bomb vesselBomb vessel
A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannon —although bomb vessels carried a few cannon for self-defence—but rather mortars mounted forward near the bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a...
at 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...
in January 1804. His time in command was short, as on 8 May he was promoted to post captain. He married Jane Elizabeth Morin in March 1805, the couple having one son together. Humphreys went out to Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
the following year to take command of the 50-gun , the flagship of the station commander Vice-Admiral George Berkeley
George Cranfield-Berkeley
Admiral Sir George Cranfield Berkeley GCB , often known as George Berkeley, was a highly experienced, popular, yet controversial naval officer and politician in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Britain...
. He assumed command on his arrival in May, but it was then decided to send Leander back to Britain, and Humphreys was instead transferred to the 50-gun in October. Berkeley preferred to live onshore, meaning that for much of the time Leopard acted as a private ship
Private ship
Private ship is a term used in the British Royal Navy to describe that status of a commissioned warship in active service that is not currently serving as the flagship of a flag officer . The term in no way implies any type of private ownership of the vessel, but is more akin to private...
.
The Cheasapeake-Leopard affair
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
on 22 June and sent a lieutenant across to request permission to search her. Chesapeakes commander, Commodore James Barron
James Barron
James Barron was an officer in the United States Navy. Commander of the frigate USS Chesapeake, he was court-martialed for his actions on 22 June 1807, which led to the surrender of his ship to the British....
, refused to allow this and ordered his men to prepare for an action. Faced with Barron's refusal, Humphreys bore up and opened fire on her, hitting her with several broadsides. The unprepared Chesapeake fired a single shot in reply, and then struck her colours
Striking the colors
Striking the colors is the universally recognized indication of surrender, particularly for ships at sea. Surrender is dated from the time the ensign is struck.-In international law:# "Colors. A national flag . The colors . ....
. Humphreys sent a party across to search the ship, and found four deserters, Daniel Martin, John Strachan, and William Ware, run from ; and Jenkin Ratford, run from . They were taken aboard Leopard, which then departed, Humphreys having refused to accept Barron's offer to consider Chesapeake a prize. Chesapeake had three men killed, eight men badly wounded, and ten slightly wounded.
Though his conduct was approved of by Berkeley, it caused outrage amongst the Americans and became a major political incident. Anxious to appease the Americans, an Order in Council was issued, banning the use of force against foreign warships, Berkeley was recalled and Humphreys too found himself a victim of political movements. He returned to Britain in 1808 and was not offered any further commands.
Life ashore
Humphreys spent the remainder of the war ashore on half-pay, finding occupation in civil duties, serving as a Justice of the PeaceJustice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Buckingham
Buckingham
Buckingham is a town situated in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. The town has a population of 11,572 ,...
, Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
and Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
. His wife Jane died in September 1808, and Humphreys remarried on 31 May 1810, to Maria Davenport, of Bramall Hall
Bramall Hall
Bramall Hall is a Tudor manor house in Bramhall, within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is a timber-framed building, the oldest parts of which date from the 14th century, with later additions from the 16th and 19th centuries...
. The couple had five sons and two daughters together.
After the wars had ended he was put on the list of superannuated captains, but achieved some recompense when he was made a Companion 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...
on 26 September 1831. He received a further honour when he was nominated a Knight Commander of the Guelphic Order of Hanover
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...
in February 1834, and was promoted to rear-admiral on 10 January 1837. He assumed the surname of Davenport when his wife inherited the Davenport estates at Bramall in 1838, and was restored to the active list on 17 August 1840. He settled at Bramall and had become widely respected in the Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
area prior to his wife's inheritance, but following his succession to the estate there were disputes from other members of the Davenport family who claimed a right to the property. He moved with Maria to Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
in 1841, most likely because living at Bramall had become expensive or because of health concerns. He died there on 17 November 1845 at the age of sixty-six and was buried in Leckhampton
Leckhampton
Leckhampton is a district in south Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The area constitutes a civil parish and is part of the district of Cheltenham.-History:...
.