Vice-Admiral Samuel Hood Linzee (27 December 1773 – 1 September 1820) was an admiral of the British

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 ...

who served during 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 ...

Biography

Linzee was born in

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 ...

, Devon, the son of John Linzee and Susannah Inman, and named in honour of

Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood (12 December 1724 – 27 January 1816) was an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral in the Royal Navy. As a junior officer he saw action during the War of the Austrian Succession. While in temporary command of , he drove a ...

, who was married to his father's cousin, Susannah. His father was a Royal Navy captain, and had served during the American War, commanding the sloop from October 1774 until after July 1776, and saw action at the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in ...

in 1775. Although his infant son Samuel's name appeared on the ship's muster roll as captain's servant and senior clerk, it is highly improbable that Samuel was on board the ship, but it did count towards the years of sea time necessary for all candidates for a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

's commission. Samuel Linzee subsequently received his on 21 July 1790, aged only sixteen and a half. He 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. ...

on 5 November 1793, and 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) ...

on 8 March 1794, only two months past his 20th birthday, and given command of the 28-gun

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 ...

frigate . On 9 December 1795, the French frigate ''Sensible'' and corvette ''Sardine'' captured ''Nemesis'' while she was at anchor in the neutral port of

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

. ''Nemesis'' did not resist and Linzee protested the illegality of the action. The British frigates ''Aigle'' and blockaded the three ships until Ganteaume's squadron drove the British ships off. The French sailed ''Nemesis'' to

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

in January 1796, but the British recaptured her on 9 March. Linzee travelled home via Venice, Vienna, Dresden, Prague, and Berlin, and eventually returned to England in a packet boat from Hamburg in mid-1796. At 8 a.m. on 26 January 1801, Linzee, newly in command of the 36-gun frigate, ''Oiseau'' (the former ) sighted the French 36-gun frigate , which was bound from

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

with despatches. The ''Oiseau'' pursued ''Dédaigneuse'' alone until noon the next day when, with

Cape Finisterre Cape Finisterre (, also ; gl, Cabo Fisterra, italic=no ; es, Cabo Finisterre, italic=no ) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. The name Finisterre, like ...

in sight, the frigates and joined the chase. Eventually ''Dédaigneuse'' surrendered to the ''Oiseau'' around 2.45 p.m. on the 28th, and was taken into service in the Royal Navy. Linzee commanded the

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...

ship during the Battle of Copenhagen on 2 April 1801, and was in the fleet of Rear Admiral George Campbell which sailed from England to

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...

in 1802, and returned to England in May of that year. He commanded the 74-gun from early 1805 until April 1806, and was part of Sir

Robert Calder Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, (2 July 174531 August 1818) was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. For much of his career ...

's fleet when he engaged a combined French and Spanish fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre on 22 July 1805. In February 1807 Linzee was appointed commander of the 74-gun ship . One of his first duties, on 6 March, was to sit on the court martial of Sir

Home Riggs Popham Rear Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham, KCB, KCH (12 October 1762 – 20 September 1820), was a Royal Navy commander who saw service against the French during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is remembered for his scientific accomplishme ...

after the failed invasion of South America. On 19 July 1807 he commanded ''Maida'' in the bombardment of Copenhagen and the capture of the Danish fleet. Linzee went to command the for a brief period in January and February 1809, the from 1809 to 1811, the from August 1810 to December 1811, in March 1812, and then the from April to August 1812. He was appointed a

Colonel of Marines Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion ...

on 20 July 1811. Linzee was promoted to the

flag rank A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

of Rear Admiral of the Blue on 12 August 1812, then to Rear Admiral of the White on 4 December 1812, Rear Admiral of the Red on 4 June 1813, and finally to Vice-Admiral of the Blue on 12 August 1819.

Death

Linzee died on 1 September 1820, at his home at Stonehouse, Devon, at the age of 46, after an attack of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

caused him to fall from his horse a few days before. A monument can be found in the north aisle of the Church of St. Andrews, Plymouth.

Personal life

Linzee first married Miss J. Clark, at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, in July 1799. She and her baby died during childbirth on 28 August 1800, at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

. On 7 September 1802 Linzee married Emily Wooldridge, the daughter of Captain William Wooldridge, at

St Andrew's Church, Plymouth The Minster Church of St Andrew, also known as St Andrew's Church, Plymouth is an Anglican church in Plymouth. It is the original parish church of Sutton, one of the three towns which were later combined to form the city of Plymouth. The church i ...

. They had nine children; the first three, all boys, were stillborn, while the fourth, named Samuel Hood Linzee, was born in August 1806, but died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

on 26 December the same year. The fifth child, Emily Wooldridge Linzee, was born on 27 September 1807. The sixth, also Samuel Hood Linzee, was born on 19 December 1809, and was drowned off

Cape Frio Cabo Frio (, ''Cold Cape'') is a tourist destination located in the state of Rio de Janeiro state. It was founded by the Portuguese on November 13, 1615. The Brazilian coast runs east from Rio de Janeiro to Cabo Frio where it turns sharply north ...

on 11 July 1831, aged only 22, while serving as a lieutenant aboard . The seventh child, John Linzee was born 22 September 1812, while the eighth, Susanna Inman Linzee, was born on 17 December 1815. The ninth and final child, Mary Ann Charlotte Linzee was born on 26 January 1818.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linzee, Samuel Hood 1773 births 1820 deaths Royal Navy vice admirals