Temple Hardy
Encyclopedia
Captain Temple Hardy was an English
naval officer active during the French Revolutionary Wars
, perhaps most notable for his role in the capture of the Cape Colony
in 1795.
He was born on 14 January 1765, and christened "Charles Temple Hardy" on 11 February, at Westminister. He was a son of Admiral Charles Hardy
, from whom he inherited a house at Rawlins, in Oxfordshire
, and £3,000, on his father's death in 1780. Like his father, he entered the Royal Navy
; he was appointed to the rank of Lieutenant on 4 November 1790, and to Commander on 1 June 1794.
In 1795, he commanded the sloop HMS Echo in the expedition to capture Cape Town
. He commanded a battalion of sailors from the fleet at the Battle of Muizenberg
, with Echo being commanded by a lieutenant from Monarch
. He was mentioned in both the Army and Navy despatches
:
A Dutch Indiaman, the Willemstadt en Boetzlaar, which was captured in Table Bay
after the engagement was taken into British service as HMS Princess, and as mentioned above briefly commanded by Hardy. He was promoted to Captain on November 24, 1795; this was the day before the despatches were in the London press, with the Admiralty presumably confirming Elphinstone's appointment on receipt.
In April 1797 he was in command of HMS Squirrel
, which convoyed a party of British commissioners to the United States of America to settle claims arising from the Treaty of London
. On 12 May 1799 he was given command of the Thunderer
, a 74-gun third-rate, at Jamaica
, and left the ship on 28 July 1800. He married Elizabeth Lucy Warre on 9 December 1800, in the parish of Westminster St James
. In 1801, when his mother died, he was still resident at Rawlins and her only surviving son. By 1804 he and his wife were resident in Eastley End House
in Thorpe, Surrey
.
In May 1805 he was not assigned any command, and in April 1806 was in command of the third-rate Ruby
, where he took three Prussian merchantmen as prizes. He commanded the Euryalus
for parts of 1806, in an acting capacity. In November 1806, he had to turn down command of the third-rate Defence
through illness. In February 1810 he was appointed to command of the third-rate Resolution
, which saw service escorting convoys in the Danish straits
. He remained in command when the Resolution was put in ordinary at Portsmouth in 1811. He was given command of Swiftsure
on 20 August 1811, but in May 1812, in the Mediterranean, he was taken ill. He was removed from command, and discharged into Port Mahon
hospital on 17 June.
He died on 29 March 1814, at Exeter, and his will was proven in London on 9 June 1814. The will, dated 11 September 1811, left his possessions to his wife and to his two unmarried sisters, Clare and Rachael Emilia; minor valuables, and any outstanding prize money
were left to his family, his executors, and Captains Blackwood
and Otway. The executors, along with his wife, were the Rev. Francis Annesley, of Eydon in Northamptonshire; Captain John William Spranger
; and William Groom of Lincoln's Inn Fields. Elizabeth outlived him by twenty years, dying on 2 April 1835, aged 71. The naval officers in his will all became Rear-Admirals through seniority on 4 June 1814, shortly after his death; if he had survived a few months longer, he would likely have attained this rank before his death.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
naval officer active during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, perhaps most notable for his role in the capture of the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
in 1795.
He was born on 14 January 1765, and christened "Charles Temple Hardy" on 11 February, at Westminister. He was a son of Admiral Charles Hardy
Charles Hardy
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Hardy was a Royal Navy officer and colonial governor of New York.-Early career:Born at Portsmouth, the son of a vice admiral, Charles Hardy joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer in 1731....
, from whom he inherited a house at Rawlins, in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, and £3,000, on his father's death in 1780. Like his father, he entered 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 was appointed to the rank of Lieutenant on 4 November 1790, and to Commander on 1 June 1794.
In 1795, he commanded the sloop HMS Echo in the expedition to capture Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. He commanded a battalion of sailors from the fleet at the Battle of Muizenberg
Battle of Muizenberg
The Battle of Muizenberg was a small but significant military engagement which took place near Muizenberg, South Africa in 1795; it led to the capture of the Cape Colony by Kingdom of Great Britain.- Background :...
, with Echo being commanded by a lieutenant from Monarch
HMS Monarch (1765)
HMS Monarch was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 20 July 1765 at Deptford Dockyard.Monarch had a very active career, fighting in her first battle in 1778 at the First Battle of Ushant and her second under Admiral Rodney at Cape St. Vincent in 1780...
. He was mentioned in both the Army and Navy despatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...
:
-
- [The engagement was] ... only remarkable for the steadiness displayed by the 1st battalion of seamen, commanded by Captain Hardy of the Echo, who ... received the enemy's fire without returning a shot, and manoeuvered with a regularity which would not have discredited veteran troops. — Major-General CraigJames Henry CraigGeneral Sir James Henry Craig KB was a British military officer and colonial administrator.-Early life and military service:...
. - I must more particularly beg leave to note the eminent services of Captains Hardy and Spranger ... you will perceive I have given command of the Princess to Captain Hardy, whose acknowledged merit will, I trust, justify my election, and recommend him to their Lordships' confirmation. — Admiral ElphinstoneGeorge Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount KeithGeorge Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith was a British admiral active throughout the Napoleonic Wars.-Career:Fifth son of the 10th Lord Elphinstone, he was born in Elphinstone Tower, near Stirling, Scotland...
.
- [The engagement was] ... only remarkable for the steadiness displayed by the 1st battalion of seamen, commanded by Captain Hardy of the Echo, who ... received the enemy's fire without returning a shot, and manoeuvered with a regularity which would not have discredited veteran troops. — Major-General Craig
A Dutch Indiaman, the Willemstadt en Boetzlaar, which was captured in Table Bay
Table Bay
Table Bay is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named because it is dominated by the flat-topped Table Mountain.Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to explore this...
after the engagement was taken into British service as HMS Princess, and as mentioned above briefly commanded by Hardy. He was promoted to Captain on November 24, 1795; this was the day before the despatches were in the London press, with the Admiralty presumably confirming Elphinstone's appointment on receipt.
In April 1797 he was in command of HMS Squirrel
HMS Squirrel (1785)
HMS Squirrel was a Royal Navy 24-gun sixth rate, built in 1785 and broken up in 1817....
, which convoyed a party of British commissioners to the United States of America to settle claims arising from the Treaty of London
Jay Treaty
Jay's Treaty, , also known as Jay's Treaty, The British Treaty, and the Treaty of London of 1794, was a treaty between the United States and Great Britain that is credited with averting war,, resolving issues remaining since the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which ended the American Revolution,, and...
. On 12 May 1799 he was given command of the Thunderer
HMS Thunderer (1783)
HMS Thunderer was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at the Wells brother's shipyard in Rotherhithe and launched on 13 November 1783...
, a 74-gun third-rate, at Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, and left the ship on 28 July 1800. He married Elizabeth Lucy Warre on 9 December 1800, in the parish of Westminster St James
Westminster St James
Westminster St James was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. It was also known as St James Picadilly named after St James's Church, Piccadilly....
. In 1801, when his mother died, he was still resident at Rawlins and her only surviving son. By 1804 he and his wife were resident in Eastley End House
Eastley End House
Eastley End House is a Georgian house located just outside Thorpe, Surrey. It is a Grade II listed building, and is currently part of the headquarters of RMC Group, a division of Cemex.-Architecture:...
in Thorpe, Surrey
Thorpe, Surrey
Thorpe is a village in Surrey, England, located between Egham and Chertsey. It lies just inside the circle of the western part of the M25, near the M3. Neighbouring villages include Virginia Water, Wentworth, Laleham and Lyne...
.
In May 1805 he was not assigned any command, and in April 1806 was in command of the third-rate Ruby
HMS Ruby (1776)
HMS Ruby was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 November 1776 at Woolwich.She was converted to serve as a receiving ship in 1813, and was broken up in 1821....
, where he took three Prussian merchantmen as prizes. He commanded the Euryalus
HMS Euryalus (1803)
HMS Euryalus was a Royal Navy Apollo Class frigate of 36 guns, which saw service in the Battle of Trafalgar and the War of 1812. During her career she was commanded by three prominent naval personalities of the Napoleonic and post-Napoleonic period, Henry Blackwood, George Heneage Dundas and...
for parts of 1806, in an acting capacity. In November 1806, he had to turn down command of the third-rate Defence
HMS Defence (1763)
HMS Defence was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 31 March 1763 at Plymouth Dockyard. She was one of the most famous ships of the period, taking part in several of the most important naval battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars...
through illness. In February 1810 he was appointed to command of the third-rate Resolution
HMS Resolution (1770)
HMS Resolution was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 12 April 1770 at Deptford Dockyard.She participated in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1780, the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781, and the Battle of the Saintes in 1782.Resolution was broken up in 1813....
, which saw service escorting convoys in the Danish straits
Danish straits
The Danish straits are the three channels connecting the Baltic Sea to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak. They transect Denmark, and are not to be confused with the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland...
. He remained in command when the Resolution was put in ordinary at Portsmouth in 1811. He was given command of Swiftsure
HMS Swiftsure (1804)
HMS Swiftsure was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched from Bucklers Hard on 23 July 1804. She fought at Trafalgar.The French 74-gun ship Swiftsure also took part in the battle...
on 20 August 1811, but in May 1812, in the Mediterranean, he was taken ill. He was removed from command, and discharged into Port Mahon
Mahon
Mahón is a municipality and the capital city of the Balearic Island of Minorca , located in the eastern part of the island. Mahon has the second deepest natural harbor in the world: 5 km long and up to 900m. wide...
hospital on 17 June.
He died on 29 March 1814, at Exeter, and his will was proven in London on 9 June 1814. The will, dated 11 September 1811, left his possessions to his wife and to his two unmarried sisters, Clare and Rachael Emilia; minor valuables, and any outstanding prize money
Prize money
Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...
were left to his family, his executors, and Captains Blackwood
Henry Blackwood
Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood, 1st Baronet, GCH, KCB , whose memorial is in the St. John's Church, Killyleagh, was a British sailor....
and Otway. The executors, along with his wife, were the Rev. Francis Annesley, of Eydon in Northamptonshire; Captain John William Spranger
John William Spranger
Rear-Admiral John William Spranger was a Royal Navy officer active during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars.He was appointed Lieutenant on 23 August 1790, and Commander on 7 June 1794. In 1795, he commanded the sloop in the expedition to capture Cape Town...
; and William Groom of Lincoln's Inn Fields. Elizabeth outlived him by twenty years, dying on 2 April 1835, aged 71. The naval officers in his will all became Rear-Admirals through seniority on 4 June 1814, shortly after his death; if he had survived a few months longer, he would likely have attained this rank before his death.