Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Loraine Baker, 2nd Baronet CB (3 January 1787 – 2 November 1859) was an officer 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 ...

against France and her allies, and also in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

against the United States.

Biography

Baker was born in

Nancy, France Nancy ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Nanzisch'' is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the northeastern Departments of France, French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which was Lorraine and Barrois, an ...

, the eldest surviving son of Sir Robert Baker, Bt., and Dinah Hayley, the daughter of Mary (née Wilkes) and

George Hayley George Hayley (1722-1781) was a British merchant, shipowner, whaler and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1781. Life and career Hayley was the eldest son of George Hayley and his wife Hannah Hopkins. His initial career was t ...

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

and MP for the City of London. Baker entered the Royal Navy in December 1797 as a first class volunteer aboard the frigate ''

Unite Unite may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London * ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993 * ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005 Songs ...

'' under the command of Captain Charles Rowley. He then served aboard the

brig-sloop In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

under Captains Charles Wollaston and

James Brisbane Captain Sir James Brisbane, CB (1774 – 19 December 1826) was a British Royal Navy officer of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Although never engaged in any major actions, Brisbane served under both Lord Howe and Horatio Nels ...

, before returning to Captain Rowley to serve as a midshipman in , all in home waters, until the peace of 1802. In July 1802 he joined under Captain Bendall Robert Littlehales, and after taking part in the 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 ...

under Admiral

Sir Samuel Hood Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood (12 December 1724 – 27 January 1816) was an 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 French ship ashore i ...

, he and Littlehales returned home aboard the hired brig ''Morne Fortunee'' with despatches in June 1803. He was then attached to , Captain the Honourable

Alexander Cochrane Admiral of the Blue Sir Alexander Inglis Cochrane (born Alexander Forrester Cochrane; 23 April 1758 – 26 January 1832) was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars and achieved the rank of admiral. He had previously captain ...

, but soon returned to 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 ...

to serve aboard under Captain John Bligh in operations at

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...

. Baker took part in the blockade of

Cape François A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

; the capture of Fort Dauphin, where two forts and a 28-gun corvette ''La Sagesse'', were taken; and the surrender of the French squadron with the remains of General Rochambeau's army on board. On 16 July 1804 Baker followed Captain Bligh into the frigate with the rank of

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

-lieutenant. In March 1805 he was transferred 18-gun ''Reynard'' under the command of Captain Jeremiah Coghlan. On 20 March the ''Reynard'' destroyed a large French privateer ''General Ernouf'', as a result of which Baker's commission was confirmed and backdated to 18 October 1804. In December 1805 he joined the ''Fortunée'' under Captain Henry Vansittart, then from May 1806 served aboard ''Mediator'' under Captain

William Furlong Wise Rear Admiral William Furlong Wise, (21 August 1784 – 29 April 1844) was a British naval officer. Childhood Wise was born at the family home in Woolston near Kingsbridge, Devon, the son of George Furlong Wise of Woolston and his wife, Jane ...

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 ...

. He took part in the capture of several privateers, and the storming of the fort at Samaná on 14 February 1807. He then served aboard , the flagship of Rear-Admiral James Richard Dacres. Baker returned home in late 1807 and joined the under Captain William Roberts, then under Captain Rowley again, and under

George Sayer George Sydney Benedict Sayer (1 June 1914 – 20 October 2005) was a teacher at Malvern College, trustee of the Lewis estate and probably best known for his biography of the author C. S. Lewis.

. In August 1809, he took charge of a gun-boat, and was particularly mentioned by

Sir George Cockburn Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, (22 April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was a British Royal Navy officer. As a captain he was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars a ...

for his part at the bombardment of

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic l ...

during the

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham ...

. On 15 August 1810, he assumed command of a 10-gun schooner named ''Anholt'', and served as second in command under Captain James Wilkes Maurice at the defence of Anholt, in March 1811 when that island was attacked by a Danish force at least four times larger than the British garrison. Baker in ''Anholt'' played a major part in the defeat of the enemy by bearing down along the northern shore of the island, and placing them between two fires. This was acknowledged, on his arrival in England with despatches, by promotion to the rank of commander dated 8 April 1811. On 28 October 1812 Baker was appointed to command of the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

, and on 18 March 1814 to the

, both on the

North America 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 t ...

. In August 1814 he took part in operations on the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

; at the capture of Fort Washington, and the

capitulation of Alexandria The Capitulation of Alexandria in August 1801 brought to an end the French campaign in Egypt and Syria, French expedition to Egypt. Background French troops, defeated by British and Ottoman forces, had retreated to Alexandria where they were Si ...

. In the despatches of Captain James Alexander Gordon, he was praised for his conduct, particularly for his part in preventing the grounded from falling into the hands of the enemy. Following the surrender of Guadeloupe in August 1815, in which he also took part, he was received promotion 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) ...

, backdated to 13 June 1815, and about the same time made a

Companion of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...

. On 27 June 1820 he married Louisa Ann Williams, the daughter of William Williams of Belmont House, South Lambeth, formerly MP for Weymouth, and had two sons and five daughters. He succeeded his father as second baronet on 4 February 1826. On 29 July 1840, Baker was selected by Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Digby,

Commander-in-Chief, The Nore The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Th ...

, to be his

flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First ...

in the at

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 ...

. In October 1841, a few days after transferring with Digby to '' Camperdown'', while in attendance on the Lords of the Admiralty, he unfortunately broke his leg and received other severe injuries. He resigned the command of ''Camperdown'' in December, and on 19 January 1842 was granted a pension of £180. He was promoted to rear-admiral on 6 November 1850, and to vice-admiral on 9 July 1857. Vice-Admiral Baker died on 2 November 1859.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Henry, Sir, 2nd Baronet 1787 births 1859 deaths People from Nancy, France Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy vice admirals

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

Biography

See also

References

External links