Vice-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, 1st Baronet (27 November 1762 – 24 December 1814), of 37 Lower Wimpole Street, London, was an officer of 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 ...

. He served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

in 1806. He is not to be confused with his father's first cousin Admiral Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood (1724–1816) who sponsored both him and his elder brother Captain Alexander Hood (1758–1798) into the Royal Navy.

Origins

He was born on 27 November 1762, the 3rd son of Samuel Hood (1715–1805), a

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

in the Royal Navy, of Kingsland in the parish of Netherbury in Dorset, by his wife Anne Bere, a daughter of James Bere of Westbury in Wiltshire. His father's first cousins were the famous brothers Admiral Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood (1724–1816) and Admiral Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport (1726–1814), sons of Rev. Samuel Hood (1691/2-1777), Vicar of Butleigh and

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

ary of

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...

both in Somerset and Vicar of Thorncombe in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. The 1st Baronet's two elder brothers were also naval officers, like Samuel all "gallant Dorset sailors" (as the latter's 1914 monument in Netherbury Church records), namely Captain Arthur Hood (1755–1775) (drowned while serving in the West Indies on board ) and Captain Alexander Hood (1758–1798) (killed in the hour of victory while commanding in her famous duel with the French ship 'Hercule'). The mural monument in Butleigh Church to the 1st Baronet and his brothers is inscribed with verse by the poet

Robert Southey Robert Southey ( or ; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a ra ...

, including the lines referring to their early lives and kinsmen: :''Divided far by death were they whose names'' :''In honour here united as in birth'' :''This monumental verse records they drew'' :''Among the western hills their natal breath'' :''And from those shores beheld the ocean first'' :''Whereon in early youth with one accord'' :''They chose their way of fortune; to that course'' :''By HOOD and BRIDPORT's bright example drawn'' :''Their kinsmen, children of this place, and sons'' :''Of one who in his faithful ministry'' :''Inculcated within these hallowed walls'' :''The truths of mercy to mankind reveal'd ''

Naval career

He entered the Royal Navy in 1776 at the start of the

American War of Independence 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 ...

.Sir Samuel Hood, 1st Baronet at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> His first engagement was the

First Battle of Ushant The Battle of Ushant (also called the First Battle of Ushant) took place on 27 July 1778, and was fought during the American Revolutionary War between French and British fleets west of Ushant, an island at the mouth of the English Channel off ...

on 27 July 1778, and, soon afterwards transferred to the West Indies, he was present, under the command of his cousin, at all the actions which culminated in Admiral

George Rodney Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at th ...

's victory of 12 April 1782 in the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

. After the peace, like many other British naval officers, Hood spent some time in France, and on his return to England was given the command of a sloop, from which he proceeded in succession to various frigates. In the 32-gun

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal ...

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 ...

''Juno'' his gallant rescue of some shipwrecked seamen won him a vote of thanks and a sword of honour from the

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

assembly.

French Revolutionary Wars

Early in 1793, after the outbreak of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

, Hood went to the Mediterranean in ''Juno'' under his cousin Lord Hood, and distinguished himself by an audacious feat of coolness and seamanship in extricating his vessel from the harbour of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

, which he had entered in ignorance of Lord Hood's withdrawal. In 1795, in ''Aigle'', he was put in command of a squadron for the protection of

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

ine commerce, and in early 1797 he was given command of the 74-gun

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 ...

''Zealous'', in which he was present at Admiral Horatio Nelson's unsuccessful attack on

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz (), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its admi ...

. Captain Hood conducted the negotiations which relieved the squadron from the consequences of its failure.

Napoleonic Wars

''Zealous'' played an important part at the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...

. Her first opponent was put out of action in twelve minutes. Hood immediately engaged other ships, the ''Guerriere'' being left powerless to fire a shot. When Nelson left the coast of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, Hood commanded the blockading force off

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

and

Rosetta Rosetta or Rashid (; ar, رشيد ' ; french: Rosette ; cop, ϯⲣⲁϣⲓⲧ ''ti-Rashit'', Ancient Greek: Βολβιτίνη ''Bolbitinē'') is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Ro ...

. Later he rejoined Nelson on the coast of the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...

, receiving for his services the order of St Ferdinand. In the 74-gun third-rate ''Venerable'' Hood was present at the Battle of Algeciras on 8 July 1801 and the action in the Straits of Gibraltar that followed. In the Straits his ship suffered heavily, losing 130 officers and men. In 1802, Hood was employed in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

as a commissioner, and, upon the death of the flag officer commanding the

Leeward Islands Station The Leeward Islands Station originally known as the Commander-in-Chief at Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands was a formation or command of the Kingdom of Great Britain and then the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed at English Harbour, Antigua, L ...

, he succeeded him as

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

. Island after island fell to him, and soon, outside

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

, the French had scarcely a foothold in 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 ...

. Amongst other measures Hood took one may mention the garrisoning of

Diamond Rock Diamond Rock (french: rocher du Diamant) is a 175-metre-high (574 ft)Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath (KB). In command next of the squadron blockading

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 ...

, Sir Samuel Hood lost an arm during the

action of 25 September 1806 The action of 25 September 1806 was a naval battle fought during the Napoleonic Wars off the French Biscay port of Rochefort. A French squadron comprising five frigates and two corvettes, sailing to the French West Indies with supplies and rei ...

against a French frigate squadron. Promoted to Rear Admiral a few days after this action, Hood was in 1807 entrusted with the operations against

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, which he brought to a successful conclusion. In 1808 Hood sailed to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

, with his flag in the 74-gun ''Centaur'', to take part in the

Russo-Swedish war Wars between Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and ...

. In one of the actions of this war ''Centaur'' and ''Implacable'', while unsupported by the Swedish ships (which lay to leeward), cut out the Russian 50-gun ship ''Sevolod'' from the enemy's line and, after a desperate fight, forced her to strike. King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden rewarded Admiral Hood with the Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...

. He became a baronet on 1 April 1809.

Later career

Having been present in the roads of

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

at the re-embarkation of the army of Sir John Moore after the Battle of A Coruña, Hood thence returned to the Mediterranean, where for two years he commanded a division of the British fleet. On 1 August 1811 he was promoted to vice admiral. He departed Portsmouth at the end of September with his family and Captain Webley aboard HMS '' Owen Glendower'' 36 under Captain Bryan Hodgson. They were put back into Lymington within days due to bad weather. He departed again at the end of October. After a very rough voyage, Hood eventually arrived at Madras in 1812 where he took HMS '' Illustrious'' 74 as his flagship in his last command, that of Commander in Chief of the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...

. He moved with Captain Webley to HMS ''

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detm ...

'' 74 once she was brought out from Portsmouth by Captain Alexander Skene in January 1813. ''Minden'' remained as his flagship through December 1814 with his friend Captain George Henderson taking command in April 1814.https://morethannelson.com/officer/sir-samuel-hood/ Hiscocks, Richard. "The Royal Navy 1776-1815 A Biographical History and Chronicle" "In the summer of 1814 dmiral Hoodmade a voyage, in his majesty’s ship ''Minden'', to the eastern parts of his station.” He eventually arrived at Semarang, Java on 29 June 1814. Hood then "sailed on the ''Minden'' from Batavia on 1 August 1814 for Madras. While serving in the

- "His command was uneventful, the war n that areahaving been brought to an end with the reduction of Java and Mauritius: and the time was mainly occupied in regulating and reforming points of organization or discipline and the methods of victualling, in which he introduced some substantial reforms, effecting a saving to the government of something like thirty per cent.”

Marriage

He married

Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie (27 March 1783 – 28 November 1862) was the eldest daughter and heiress of Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth. Also known as "Lady Hood Mackenzie", or by the sobriquet "The Hooded Lassie", she was married i ...

, eldest daughter and heiress of

Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth Lieutenant-General Francis Humberston Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, (9 June 1754 – 11 January 1815) was a British politician, soldier, and botanist. He was Chief of the Highland Clan Mackenzie, as which he raised the renowned 78th (Highland ...

, but left no issue.

Death, burial and succession

Hood was about to retire and return to England. Rear-Admiral Sir George Burlton had been appointed to succeed him, but before the exchange could take place Hood died at Madras on 24 December 1814 after a three-day fever following a visit to Tippoo Sahib's former palace at

Srirangapatna Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Tehsil, Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian States and territories of India, State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna, Ranganthaswamy ...

. "In him it may truly be said, that the British nation lost one of its most experienced and gallant defenders, a long-tried friend and companion of the Immortal Nelson." He was buried at St. Mary's Church, Madras, where survives his mural monument. The heir to his baronetcy, under

special remainder In property law of the United Kingdom and the United States and other common law countries, a remainder is a future interest given to a person (who is referred to as the transferee or remainderman) that is capable of becoming possessory upon the ...

, was his nephew

Sir Alexander Hood, 2nd Baronet Sir Alexander Hood, 2nd Baronet (5 July 1793 – 7 March 1851), was an English Conservative Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Somerset West from 1847 until his death in 1851. References 1793 births 1851 ...

(1793–1851), son of his elder brother Captain Alexander Hood (1758–1798) by his wife Elizabeth Periam, daughter and sole heiress of John Periam (1714–1788) of Wootton House (alias "Butleigh Wootton") in the parish of Butleigh, Somerset.

Monuments

A lofty column, the

Admiral Hood Monument The Hood monument is a memorial column to Sir Samuel Hood on a hill near Butleigh in the parish of Compton Dundon, Somerset, England. It was completed in 1831 to a design by Henry Goodridge. Description The monument is a Tuscan column on ...

, was raised to his memory on a hill on the Wootton House estate, 3/4 of a mile (1.2 km) to the south-west of Wootton House, Butleigh, Somerset, inherited by his nephew and heir

(1793–1851) from his mother Elizabeth Periam. The Butleigh connection started with Sir Samuel Hood's great uncle (and the father of his two famous Admiral cousins) Rev. Samuel Hood (1689–1777) who was Vicar of Butleigh and of Thorncombe in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and was a

Prebend A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

ary of

. The south face of its base is inscribed:
:''This monument is dedicated to the late Commander by the attachment and reverence of British officers of whom many were his admiring followers in these awful scenes of war; in which, while they call forth the grandest qualities of human nature, in his likewise gave occasion for the exercise of its most amiable virtues. He died at Madras, December 24th 1814''. Other monuments survive in Butleigh Church (with an inscription written by the poet

) and in St. Mary's Church, Madras. The

Hoods Tower Museum The Hoods Tower Museum ( ta, குட் கோபுர நூதனசாலை, translit=Kuṭ Kōpura Nūtaṉacālai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමලය නාවික කෞතුකාගාරය ''Trikuṇāmalaya Nāvika Kautuk ...

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, gains its name from the

fire control tower A fire control tower is a structure located near the coastline, used to detect and locate enemy vessels offshore, direct fire upon them from coastal batteries, or adjust the aim of guns by spotting shell splashes. Fire control towers came into g ...

named after him at

Fort Ostenburg The Hoods Tower Museum ( ta, குட் கோபுர நூதனசாலை, translit=Kuṭ Kōpura Nūtaṉacālai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමලය නාවික කෞතුකාගාරය ''Trikuṇāmalaya Nāvika Kautuk ...

References

* * *

External links

Parliamentary biography
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hood, Samuel 1762 births 1814 deaths People from Somerset Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 Samuel Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Governors of British Trinidad