Rear-Admiral Edward Leveson-Gower (8 May 1776 – 6 December 1853) was a British naval officer, the son of Admiral

The Hon. ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

John Leveson-Gower and Frances Boscawen.

Naval and political career

Leveson-Gower entered the Navy in 1791, and was promoted to lieutenant on 19 March 1793. He took command of the

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...

prize frigate , when he was made post-captain on 1 June 1795, commanding her only until 6 February 1796. He commanded the frigate from December 1798, until appointed to in January 1801. In her he took part in the capture of on 3 August 1801, and the destruction of ''Bravoure'' and the recapture of on 2 September 1801, before she struck a rock off

St Aubin's Bay ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

and sank on 23 September 1801. Leveson-Gower was returned as the Member of Parliament for Truro through the influence of his uncle Viscount Falmouth in July 1802. He was given command of the frigate upon her launch in September 1803. While attached to the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...

, ''Shannon'' was lost on 10 December 1803 when she ran aground in a gale off Barfleur. Leveson-Gower was captured and spent over three years as a prisoner of war before returning to England, where he was honourably acquitted by a court martial for the loss of his ship. He was returned for Truro in the election of November 1806, and for

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

in May 1807 by Viscount Falmouth, in the Government interest, but resigned the seat shortly afterwards, taking the Chiltern Hundreds in July. Leveson-Gower commanded from 1811, and was serving in the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

in 1813, when in late April, the boats of ''Elizabeth'' and attacked a convoy of seven merchant vessels off the

River Po The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. Th ...

, capturing four, and driving the other three ashore. Of these one was brought off and another destroyed, while under fire from a shore battery, two schooners and three gun-boats. Leveson-Gower was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in 1814 and resigned his commission in 1821.

Personal life

On 13 November 1822, he married Charlotte Elizabeth Mount, by whom he had two daughters: * Elizabeth Leveson-Gower (13 April 1824 – 4 April 1875), married Charles Patton Keele * Frances Charlotte Leveson-Gower (13 December 1825 – 18 March 1915), married Georges-Xavier Papillon de la Ferté, Vicomte Papillon de la Ferté (grandson of

Denis-Pierre-Jean Papillon de la Ferté Denis-Pierre-Jean Papillon de la Ferté (Châlons-en-Champagne 17 February 1727 — Paris 7 July 1794) was a connoisseur of art and an administrator (an ''Intendant'' and from 1763 the sole ''Intendant'') of the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi, the organiz ...

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leveson-Gower, Edward 1776 births 1853 deaths Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Edward Leveson-Gower Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Truro Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Mitchell Royal Navy rear admirals Tory MPs (pre-1834) UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807