Admiral of the Blue
The Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Admiral of the White (see order of precedence below). From 1688 to 1805 this rank was in order of precedence third; after 1805 ...
Sir Henry Digby
GCB (20 January 1770 – 19 August 1842) was a senior British naval officer, who served in the
French Revolutionary
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...
and
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 ...
in 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 ...
. Born into a long-established naval family, his uncle was the famous Admiral
Robert Digby, Henry went to sea at the end of the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
aged fourteen.
As a lieutenant aboard
HMS ''Pallas'', he received a commendation for rescuing the crew of a
burning ship. Promoted to commander in August 1795 and captain in December 1796, Digby established a reputation as an aggressive prize taker, capturing 57 ships in less than twenty months. His richest capture came in October 1799 when he assisted in the taking of the treasure ship, the ''Santa Brigida''. He commanded
HMS ''Africa'' at the
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...
, manoeuvring her into the French and Spanish fleet against orders, having been instructed by
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
to avoid battle, fearing Digby's small
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 ...
would be overwhelmed.
In 1806 Digby married Lady Jane Elizabeth Coke, daughter of
Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, with whom he had three children. They moved to the estate in
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
inherited from his uncle where the prize money amassed by Digby paid for a comfortable life. He continued to serve in the navy, was appointed
Commander in Chief,
Sheerness
Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...
and attained the rank of
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, ...
in 1841.
Early life
The nephew of
Robert Digby, Henry was born in
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
on 20 January 1770.
[Broadly & Bartelot (1906) p. 261] His father, the
Hon. Rev. William Digby, was the younger brother of
Edward Digby, 6th Baron Digby
Edward Digby, 6th Baron Digby (5 July 1730 – 30 November 1757), was a British peer and Member of Parliament.
Digby was the son of Hon. Edward Digby, son of William Digby, 5th Baron Digby. His mother was Charlotte Fox, daughter of Sir Stephen ...
and later became
Dean of Durham
The Dean of Durham is the "head" (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the Chapter, the ruling body of Durham Cathedral. The dean and chapter are based at the ''Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cu ...
and
Chaplain Ordinary to
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
.
[ Henry was one of ten children and the oldest of four boys; two of whom, Charles George (1780) and Joseph (1786), also served in 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 ...
. The younger, Joseph, later becoming a vice-admiral. On 2 April 1783, Henry was entered onto the muster roll of HMS ''Jason'' then HMS ''Vestal'' from 1 May till 6 March 1784 as a captain's servant. After a six-week break, on 16 April he was entered into the books of HMY ''Royal Charlotte'' until the end of the year when he finally went to sea aboard the 50-gun HMS ''Europa'' and sailed for the West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
.[
]
Naval career
Digby was to spend the next two and half years aboard the ''Europa''. He was almost immediately promoted from captain's servant to Able Seaman
An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...
and shortly after, to Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
.[ On 4 July 1787, after a brief return to England, he was appointed, first to the ''Janus'' and then the ''Salisbury'' on the ]North American station
The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the ...
.[ Digby's father died in November 1788 and he returned home but by December he was aboard the sloop ''Racehorse'' trying to stop the smuggling trade in the ]North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
. He returned to England once more on 22 September 1789 and did not go to sea again until the following August during which time he passed his lieutenant's exam.[Broadley and Bartelot (1906) p. 262] After a short probationary period aboard HMS ''Bellerophon'', he was confirmed as fourth lieutenant of the ''Lion'' in October 1790.[Heathcote (2005) p. 51][ Returning from the West Indies in September 1791, Digby spent a year and eight months in England dealing with family affairs, following the death of his mother.][
On 5 May 1793, Digby was appointed ]first lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...
of HMS ''Eurydice'' serving in the Channel Squadron
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
, and from there to the ''Proserpine'' on 16 February 1794.[ Appointed second lieutenant to the 5th rate HMS ''Pallas'' on 25 March, he received a commendation for saving hundreds of lives when, on 1 May 1795, the ]first-rate
In the rating system of the British Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at ...
HMS ''Boyne'' caught fire and exploded in Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...
.[ Digby took a small boat close into the blazing ship to rescue men struggling in the water despite the risk of instant annihilation should the ammunition store catch alight, as happened later that day.][ Shortly after, on 20 May 1795, Digby joined HMS ''Dictator'' as first lieutenant and stayed with her until he was promoted in August that year.][
]
First commands
In August 1795, Digby was promoted to commander of the 16 gun fireship, , operating in Quiberon Bay
Quiberon Bay (french: Baie de Quiberon) is an area of sheltered water on the south coast of Brittany. The bay is in the Morbihan département.
Geography
The bay is roughly triangular in shape, open to the south with the Gulf of Morbihan to t ...
and the Channel
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
.[ On 16 December 1796 he made ]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) ...
and was appointed to the 6th rate, 28 gun, ''Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
'', escorting convoys in the waters around Portugal and Spain and damaging the enemy's commercial interests wherever possible.[Broadley & Bartelot (1906) p. 263] In these first two commands, Digby took 57 enemy vessels before transferring to HMS ''Leviathan'' under Commodore John Duckworth and was present at the capture of Minorca
Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capita ...
in November 1798.[Heathcote (2005) p. 52] In 1799 he was given a lucrative independent cruise in the frigate HMS ''Alcmene''. Patrolling the waters in and around Portugal and the Azores, Digby captured dozens of small merchant ships and a 28 gun French privateer, ''Courageux''.[
Digby's habit of using his own funds to pay prize money to his crew straight away, rather than have to wait for a judgement from an Admiralty court; coupled with his aggressive, near-record-breaking prize taking; made him extremely popular with seamen and officers alike and he was never short of volunteers to sail with him.][ One particular capture, that of the ''Santa Brigida'', contained such wealth that even an Ordinary Seaman received £182.][
]
Capture of the Santa Brigida
Digby claimed that a dream caused him to change course and as a result, at dawn on 16 October 1799, the ''Alcmene'' encountered two British frigates.[ HMS ''Naiad'' and HMS ''Ethalion'' were chasing two 34 gun Spanish frigates, ''Santa Brigida'' and ''Thetis''. Digby's ship joined the pursuit and soon after a fourth frigate arrived. At 7.00am the two Spaniards parted company so Naiad followed one frigate, together with and the newly arrived , while ''Ethalion'', set after the other frigate. By 11.30am, ''Ethalion'' had caught up with her quarry and after a short engagement the Spanish vessel struck her colours. ''Ethalion'' had no casualties though the Spaniard had one man killed and nine wounded. ''Triton'', the fastest of the three British frigates, led the chase of the second frigate. The next morning ''Triton'' struck some rocks off ]Muros
Muros may refer to:
*Muros, A Coruña, a municipality in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain
* Muros, Sardinia, a comune in the province of Sassari in the region Sardini, Italy
* Muros (comarca), a comarca in the ...
as she tried to prevent her quarry from reaching port. ''Triton'' got off the rocks and resumed the chase despite taking on water. She and ''Alcmene'' then exchanged fire with the Spanish frigate, which surrendered before ''Naiad'' could catch up.[James (1837) Vol.II p. 358]
The ''Santa Brigida'' and ''Thetis'' cargoes included around 2.7 million Pieces of Eight
The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight ( es, Real de a ocho, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content ...
. The two ships' cargoes totalled around £618,000 (£56million in 2018 values) and Digby's share of the prize fund came to £40,731, not including the ships themselves.[ This was more than twice the total prize money Digby had thus far accrued in his career (around £20,000).][
]
Peace
Digby returned to England in early 1801 and spent 10 weeks without a ship. In May he took command of HMS ''Resistance'', on the North American station, in which he captured the French privateer ''Elizabeth'', the last capture before 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 ...
.[Broadley & Bartelot (1906) p. 267] Digby spent the next three years on half pay, though in February 1805 he was in temporary command of . He was next given command of HMS ''Africa'' in July 1805. An old, small battleship, ''Africa'' possessed just 64 guns and was considered by many as much too small to serve in the line of battle in a major fleet engagement. Ordered to join Nelson's fleet off Cadiz, Digby arrived just days before the Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...
on 21 October.
Trafalgar
The ''Africa'' was also a poor sailer, and on the morning of the battle, as a result of bad weather and a missed signal during the night, Digby found his ship far off station to the north and was thus very isolated.[ Nelson saw the predicament and sent a signal instructing Digby to "Make all sail", intending him to pull back from the enemy rather than risk being overwhelmed as there were ten enemy ships between ''Africa'' and the British fleet, all larger than ''Africa'' in size.][Heathcote (2005) p. 53]
Digby indignantly received the order and then deliberately misinterpreted it as an instruction to close with the British fleet to the south, engaging each in turn with port broadsides before reaching the melee surrounding the enormous Spanish flagship, the 130 gun ''Santissima Trinidad''.[ Believing that she had surrendered, Digby dispatched his first lieutenant, John Smith, on board to take the surrender. Smith and his party actually reached the Spanish quarterdeck unmolested before realising that the ship was still fighting. Fortunately in that chivalrous age the Spanish admiral allowed Smith's party to return to their boat unharmed.][ Sailing south from the battle, ''Africa'' encountered the ''Intrépide'' and fought her continuously for 40 minutes until HMS ''Orion'' arrived and the French ship surrendered as she was outnumbered.][ In this fight ''Africa'' was very badly damaged and lost 62 men killed or wounded, including most of her officers.
The damage suffered by the ''Africa'' was highlighted in March 2006 when the ]BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. Digby's inscription inside read ''... this book was shivered in this manner by a whole shot, knocking to pieces the bookcase ... off Cape Trafalgar on 21 October 1805 ... on board the 'Africa' (64 guns).'' signed Henry Digby.
Some 10 years after the battle, Digby received some criticisms for his actions. On hearing a rumour that Nelson had disapproved of Digby's behaviour at Trafalgar,
wrote: ".....I beg to assure you that Lord Nelson expressed great satisfaction at the gallant manner in which you passed the enemy's line; and I assure you he appeared most fully satisfied with the conduct of the Africa. I shall be most happy personally to contradict the report, if you will inform me of the Captain's name who conveyed it to you".
On 17 April 1806, he married Lady Jane Elizabeth Coke, a renowned beauty, and daughter of
.