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 ...

Edmund Palmer ( – 19 September 1834) was a Royal Navy officer of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century who is best known for his service as commander of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

HMS ''Hebrus'', in the

Battle of Jobourg The Battle of Jobourg was a minor naval engagement between British and French frigate squadrons during the last weeks of the War of the Sixth Coalition in the 22nd and penultimate year of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. In October ...

off the

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

Coast, in the last frigate ship-to-ship battle of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

on 27 March 1814. Chasing down the frigate ''Etoile'', which was making for

Saint Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

, Palmer cornered and defeated the French ship in a fierce engagement.

Life

Palmer was born in c. 1781, the son of a

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

official with political influence. He joined the

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 ...

in 1793 at the outbreak of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

and served aboard HMS ''Gibraltar'' and then the

HMS ''Aigle'' under her destruction on the North African coast in 1798. He subsequently served in HMS ''Ville de Paris'', HMS ''Princess Royal'' and HMS ''Pictou'' before being placed in reserve at the

Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it se ...

in 1801.''United Service Journal'', "Captain Edmund Palmer, CB" At the start of the

in 1803 he returned to service as a lieutenant in HMS ''Childers'' in the fleet of Earl St. Vincent. His connections enabled him to become acquainted with the Earl and in 1804 he was promoted to commander, captaining HMS ''Wizard'' in the Mediterranean for two years until promoted to

post captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...

in 1807. Due to a dearth of available ships, Palmer subsequently spent seven years in reserve, where despite political and even royal influence in his favour he was unable to secure employment. Finally in January 1814, with the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition (March 1813 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States defeated F ...

coming to an end, he was appointed to the newly built frigate HMS ''Hebrus'' and joined the

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...

of the French Channel ports. It was while employed on this service that he encountered two French frigates off the

Île de Batz The Île de Batz ( br, Enez Vaz) is an island off Roscoff in Brittany, France. Administratively, it is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Climate Île de Batz has a oceanic climate (Köppen climate class ...

on 26 March in company with the

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

HMS ''Hannibal''. While ''Hannibal'' captured ''Sultane'', Palmer was sent in pursuit of ''Etoile'', cornering the French ship near the

town of

Jobourg Jobourg () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune La Hague. It lies near Cap de la Hague in the Cotentin peninsula. Its population was 493 in 2019. It is surrou ...

. In a furious night action fought close inshore Palmer's ship was badly damaged, but he was able to repeatedly

rake Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...

the French frigate, inflicting sufficient damage to force its surrender. The captured ''Etoile'' was taken to

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

and the war ended a week later. It was the last single-ship frigate action of the entire 23 year conflict. The following year Palmer and ''Hebrus'' were active during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

. After

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's return to France, Palmer was ordered to convey French Royalist politicians to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

in an attempt to force the city to declare for

King Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...

. On arrival the city was found to be strongly held by Imperial supporters and it was only after the arrival of reinforcements that Palmer was confident enough to attempt to force his way into the city, attacking the defences on 13 July 1815. By 23 July the city had declared for the King, and Palmer was rewarded by being made a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

. In August 1816, Palmer and ''Hebrus'' were with the fleet which conducted the Bombardment of Algiers, but at the conclusion of the campaign it was discovered that the ship was rotten and ''Hebrus'' was paid off and broken up. Palmer married Henrietta Jervis, a grandniece of Earl St. Vincent in November 1817 and the marriage, which produced eight children was noted for its happiness. His family situation led Palmer to turn down a coveted offer of a ship, HMS ''Liverpool'' in January 1818, and he entered semi-retirement in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, refusing another offer of a ship in 1830 due to ill-health caused by a

liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...

complaint and extensive financial commitments. he died in September 1834 from an illness of the liver at his home.

Notes

References

* Retrieved on 5 February 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Edmund 1781 births 1834 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Bombardment of Algiers (1816)