Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Sir Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey (25 July 1827 – 22 October 1922) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer, appointed aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria. He distinguished himself in Canada during the Fenian raids, and was thanked in Parliament for suppressing riots in Jamaica.

Early life

De Horsey was the son of Spencer de Horsey, of Great Glemham Suffolk, and Lady Louise, a daughter of the first

Earl of Stradbroke Earl of Stradbroke, in the County of Suffolk, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1821 for John Rous, 1st Baron Rous, who had earlier represented Suffolk in the House of Commons. He had already succeeded his ...

. His only sister was the Countess of Cardigan, whose reminiscences caused a scandal when they were published.

Naval career

De Horsey joined the

in 1840William Loney RN
/ref> and served on the coast of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

later that year. He received the Naval General Service Medal and bar for his service in Syria as well as a medal for his service in Acre given by the Sultan of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Promoted to Lieutenant in July 1846 and to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

in June 1853, he was given command of the paddle

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

HMS'' Devastation'' that same month and of HMS ''Victor'' from November 1855. Promoted to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in September 1857, he commanded HMS ''Brisk'' from May 1859, HMS ''Wolverine'' from May 1864, HMS ''Aurora'' from November 1865 and HMS ''Hector'' from May 1868. He was Senior Officer on the Lakes of Canada during the Fenian raids; for this he was awarded the Canadian Medal. In 1871 he was made ADC to Queen Victoria.Obituary: Algernon De Horsey, The Times, October 1922 In July 1872, having been promoted to

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

, he became Senior Naval Officer in Jamaica with his pennant in HMS ''Aboukir'' and responsible for superintending

Jamaica Dockyard Jamaica Dockyard also known as Port Royal Dockyard was a British Royal Navy Dockyard located at Port Royal, Jamaica. It was established 1675 and closed in 1905. The dockyard was initially administered by the Navy Board then later the Board of Adm ...

. He captured the Spanish

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast ...

'' Manuela'', and suppressed riots in Jamaica for which he was thanked in Parliament. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station in 1876, with his flag in HMS ''Repulse'', HMS ''Shah'' and then HMS ''Triumph''. In this capacity he

engaged An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

with the

Huáscar Huáscar Inca (; Quechua: ''Waskar Inka''; 1503–1532) also Guazcar was Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire from 1527 to 1532. He succeeded his father, Huayna Capac and his brother Ninan Cuyochi, both of whom died of smallpox while campaigning near Qui ...

during the

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

vian civil war. He was made Commander-in-Chief, Channel Squadron with his flag in HMS ''Northumberland'' in December 1884. He was promoted to full Admiral in April 1885 and placed on retired list in July 1892. On 8 September 1878, Admiral de Horsey in the ''Shah'' visited

Pitcairn Island Pitcairn Island is the only inhabited island of the Pitcairn Islands, of which many inhabitants are descendants of mutineers of HMS ''Bounty''. Geography The island is of volcanic origin, with a rugged cliff coastline. Unlike many other ...

. His Admiralty report includes the remark, "One stranger, an American, has settled on the island – a doubtful acquisition." This line inspired

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

to write the short story '' The Great Revolution in Pitcairn'' (1879). He was appointed KCB on 9 November 1903 and lived at Melcombe House in

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

. He frequently contributed letters to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' and wrote ''An African Pilot'' and ''The Rule of the Road at Sea''. He was chairman of

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

magistrates for many years and Deputy Lieutenant. On 7 November 1913, he was appointed a deputy governor of the Isle of Wight. He died on 22 October 1922 and was described by ''The Times'' as "Doyen of the Navy". He is buried, together with his wife Caroline, at Carisbrooke (Mountjoy) Cemetery within sight of Carisbrooke Castle.

Family

He married Caroline, daughter of Admiral Andrew Drew, in 1861 and was the father of Louisa Mary Adeline de Horsey Phillips and grandfather of Admiral Tom Phillips. His son was Vice Admiral Victor Yorke de Horsey while his other daughter married Major William Croughton of the

3rd Dragoon Guards The 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as the Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 3rd Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1751 and the 3rd (Prince of Wales's) ...

Legacy

De Horsey Island at the mouth of the

Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (after the Fraser River). Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose n ...

on the

North Coast of British Columbia North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, was named for de Horsey, as was De Horsey Passage, which separates it from Smith Island to its west.BC Names/GeoBC entry "De Horsey Island"
/ref>

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Horsey, Algernon 1827 births 1922 deaths Royal Navy admirals History of British Columbia Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People of the Fenian raids Royal Navy personnel of the Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–1841) Deputy Lieutenants of the Isle of Wight