Rear-Admiral Robert Henderson (1778 – 14 June 1843) was an officer of the British Royal Navy who fought in several colonial actions and operations during his service in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Henderson served in small cruising warships in the West Indies during the early years of the Napoleonic Wars and took part in the invasion and capture of

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

in 1803 and operations off Trinidad in 1804. In 1810, Henderson commanded HMS ''Nereide'' at the

Invasion of Île de France The Invasion of Isle de France was a complicated but successful British amphibious operation in the Indian Ocean, launched in November 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars. During the operation, a substantial military force was landed by the Royal N ...

and was awarded a pension for his service which he retained until he became a retired admiral in 1838. He died in 1843.

Military career

Henderson was born in 1778, the son of prominent naval officer Captain William Henderson of Aberdeen, an important landowner in

Forfarshire Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agri ...

. Educated at Marischal College, Henderson followed his father into the British Royal Navy in 1792 as a

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 ...

in HMS ''Southampton'' shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. Serving during the war, Henderson became a lieutenant in 1799 aboard the sloop HMS ''Osprey'' and was still aboard her during the successful invasion of

in 1803. Later in the year, ''Osprey'' attacked a schooner off Trinidad and Henderson, who led the boarding party, was very seriously wounded. The following year, still on ''Osprey'', Henderson led another boarding party that captured the French privateer ''Resource'' off Trinidad. For this service, Henderson was awarded a sword by the Lloyd's Patriotic Fund of London and moved to 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 ''Centaur''. ''Centaur'' was part of the fleet that captured the Dutch colony of

Surinam Surinam may refer to: * Surinam (Dutch colony) (1667–1954), Dutch plantation colony in Guiana, South America * Surinam (English colony) (1650–1667), English short-lived colony in South America * Surinam, alternative spelling for Suriname ...

in 1804, Henderson leading a landing party that was caught in an explosion at one of the forts defending the colony and was so badly wounded that he was expected to die. For his services in this engagement, Henderson was promoted 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. ...

and awarded a pension. Despite his wounds, Henderson returned to service and was promoted to post captain in 1805. From 1805 to 1806 he was in charge of . In 1810 he took command of the newly captured

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 ''Nereide'' at Rodriguez and formed part of the fleet that supported the

, which was successfully concluded on 3 December 1810. Henderson retired at the end of the war to his native Aberdeen but remained on the naval retired list, obtaining promotion to rear-admiral on 28 June 1838. He died in January 1843 aged 65.''Gentleman's Magazine'', January to June 1843, p. 429

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Robert 1778 births 1843 deaths Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Royal Navy rear admirals Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars