Henry Keppel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (April 2009) |
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Keppel, GCB, OM (14 June 1809 – 17 January 1904) was a British admiral, son of the 4th Earl of Albemarle and of his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Lord de Clifford.
He entered the navy from the old naval academy of Portsmouth in 1822. His family connections secured him rapid promotion, at a time when the rise of less fortunate officers was very slow. He became lieutenant in 1829 and commander in 1833. His first command was largely passed on the coast of Spain, which was then in the midst of the convulsions of the Carlist War. Captain Keppel had already made himself known as a good seaman. He was engaged with the squadron stationed on the west coast of Africa to suppress the slave trade.
In 1837 he was promoted post captain, and appointed in 1841 to the service in China and against the Malay pirates, a service which he repeated in 1847, when in command of HMS Maeander. The story of his two commands was told by himself in two publications, The Expedition to Borneo of HMS. Dido for the Suppression of Piracy (with extracts from the journal of James Brooke) (1846), and in A Visit to the Indian Archipelago in HMS Meander (1853). The substance of these books was afterwards incorporated into his autobiography, which was published in 1899 under the title A Sailors Life under four Sovereigns.
In May 1853 he was appointed to the command of the new steam line-of-battle ship HMS St Jean d'Acre. When the Crimean War broke out on 1854, the St Jean d'Acre formed part of the Baltic Fleet. Keppel witnessed the fall of Bomarsund. In 1855, St Jean d'Acre was sent to the Black Sea. [1] On 21 July 1855, Keppel swapped commands with the captain of the sailing line-of-battle ship Rodney,[1][2][3] whose crew was all ashore. Keppel served as commander of the Naval Brigade which was besieging Sebastopol.[4]
After the Crimean War he was again sent out to China, this time in command of the Raleigh, as commodore to serve under Sir M. Seymour. The Raleigh was lost on an uncharted rock near Hong Kong, but three small vessels were named to act as her tenders, and Commodore Keppel commanded in them, and with the crew of the Raleigh, in the action with the Chinese at Fatshan Creek (June 1, 1857). He was honorably acquitted for the loss of the Raleigh, and was given command of HMS Alligator, which be held until his promotion to rear-admiral. For his share in the action at Fatshan Creek he was made KCB.
The prevalence of peace gave Sir Henry Keppel no further chance of active service, but he held successive commands until his retirement from the active list in 1879, two years after he attained the rank of admiral of the fleet.
Keppel married twice: firstly Katherine Louisa Crosbie, daughter of General Sir John Crosbie on 25 February 1839 and secondly Jane Elizabeth West, daughter of Martin John West on 31 October 1861. He had one son, Colin Richard Keppel, and one daughter by his second wife.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b HMS St Jean d'Acre online history
- ^ Online biography of Henry Keppel
- ^ HMS Rodney online history
- ^ A Sailors Life under four Sovereigns
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- "thePeerage". http://www.thepeerage.com/p1686.htm#i16851. Retrieved on 2006-12-26.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir James Hope |
First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp 1878–1879 |
Succeeded by Sir Astley Key |
