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Vice-Admiral Robert Merrick Fowler (1778 – 25 May 1860) was an officer of the Royal Navy notable for his service as the
Fowler, born 1778 at Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England joined the Royal Navy in May 1793 as a volunteer. He served as 
A Voyage to Terra Australis : undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803 in His Majesty's ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland Schooner; with an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise, arrival of the Cumberland at Mauritius, and imprisonment of the commander during six years and a half in that island.
' (Facsimile ed.). Adelaide; Facsimile reprint of: London : G. and W. Nicol, 1814 ed. In two volumes, with an Atlas (3 volumes): Libraries Board of South Australia. Retrieved 15 February 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Robert Merrick 1778 births 1860 deaths People from Horncastle, Lincolnshire People from South Oxfordshire District Royal Navy officers English sailors
second-in-command
Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation.
Usage
In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...
to Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...
on HMS '' Investigator '' from 1801 to 1803 and for his involvement in Battle of Pulo Aura in 1804.
Career
Fowler, born 1778 at Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England joined the Royal Navy in May 1793 as a volunteer. He served as 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 ''Royal William'' and was promoted to lieutenant in February 1800.
He was posted to HMS ''Xenophon'' (later ''Investigator'') as first lieutenant and second-in-command to Flinders during the years 1801–03. He was subsequently appointed to command HMS ''Porpoise'' which was wrecked off what is now Queensland on the homeward voyage during August 1803. Fowler was exonerated for the responsibility for the shipwreck at court-martial in 1804.
In 1804, Fowler and other survivors of the ''Porpoise'' joined a British fleet in Canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ent ...
commanded by 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 ...
Nathaniel Dance
Sir Nathaniel Dance (20 June 1748 – 25 March 1827) was an officer of the East India Company who had a long and varied career on merchant vessels, making numerous voyages to India and back with the fleets of East Indiamen. He was already awar ...
heading for the United Kingdom. Fowler distinguished himself at the Battle of Pulo Aura in February 1804 where a numerically superior French squadron under the command of Admiral Linois
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navy, navies. In the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general officer, general in the army or the air force, and is above ...
was repelled near Pulau Aur in what is now Malaysia. As an acknowledgement of his contribution, Fowler received a sword from Lloyd's Patriotic Fund.
Fowler 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.
...
in 1806 and was on active service in home waters and West Indies Station during the years 1805–11. He promoted to post-captain in 1811. Fowler was promoted to rear-admiral in 1846 and vice-admiral on the Retired List in 1858.
Fowler retired to Walliscote House at Whitchurch-on-Thames in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
and died in 1860. He was remembered by Flinders in 1802 in the naming of the following geographical places in South Australia: Fowlers Bay and Point Fowler.
Notes
See also
*References
* * Flinders, Matthew (1966) 814A Voyage to Terra Australis : undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803 in His Majesty's ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland Schooner; with an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise, arrival of the Cumberland at Mauritius, and imprisonment of the commander during six years and a half in that island.
' (Facsimile ed.). Adelaide; Facsimile reprint of: London : G. and W. Nicol, 1814 ed. In two volumes, with an Atlas (3 volumes): Libraries Board of South Australia. Retrieved 15 February 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Robert Merrick 1778 births 1860 deaths People from Horncastle, Lincolnshire People from South Oxfordshire District Royal Navy officers English sailors